


you look so fine when i'm faded

by lupus (khaleeseas)



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: (and by that i literally just mean ozai), Alternate Universe - College/University, Explicit Sexual Content, M/M, Mutual Pining, Mutual dumbassery, Not too slow, a goldilocks type of burn, backgroung kataang + mailee, but tagged just as a warning!, fratboy!/hockey player!sokka, idiots to lovers, martial artist!zuko, not too fast, series-typical homophobia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-22
Updated: 2020-09-21
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:14:46
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 28,539
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25828771
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/khaleeseas/pseuds/lupus
Summary: “You are like. Stupid hot,” Sokka said, then blinked, as if he were surprised at himself for actually saying that out loud.Meanwhile, Zuko felt like he was spiraling into another dimension. Sokka. Hot, hockey-playing,literal heartthrob, Sokka, who had everyone at the school that was attracted to men (and even some who weren’t) thirsting after him, thoughtZukowas hot.Yeah, the shitty jungle juice he’d had a single sip of must’ve transported Zuko into a parallel universe because how on Agni’s green earth was that even logistically possible?_Sokka drunkenly tells Zuko at a party that he thinks Zuko's hot. Zuko isn't really sure what that means or if it's just the words of a (beautiful) drunken dumbass. It takes some time, awkward-yet-sexually-charged interactions, and lots of meddling from their mutual friends, but eventually the two of them get their shit together.
Relationships: Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 216
Kudos: 1135





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [e] this fic has officially surpassed 10k hits so thank you to everyone who read this or even gave it a shot! i appreciate all of you!
> 
> the party scene where sokka tells zuko he's hot popped into my head and everything spiraled from there. this was supposed to be a oneshot...and then i started going bananas w everyone's backstory so here we are....a chaptered fic.
> 
> title from sammy adams’ song [ “all night longer” ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOmvUVDeO0I)which gives me visceral ptsd to every frat basement / party i was ever at in college.

Zuko never really liked parties in general, but frat parties were his own personal brand of hell. Okay so maybe it wasn’t a _frat party_ frat party - Ty Lee’s voice reminding him it was a _service_ fraternity rang in his ears - but it was still a party. And it was still packed.

It was the end of August, so of course not only was it packed, it was _hot_. Classes didn’t start until after the weekend, so it seemed everyone was blowing off as much steam as possible before the semester started and they all had real responsibilities. 

Still, he’s sure for those of his peers who loved parties, it was a fun one. There was a keg out on the back porch, and a terrifying supply of liquor in the kitchen, as well as two giant Gatorade coolers (that looked like they were definitely stolen from the athletic department) that Zuko could only guess, were filled with jungle juice. There was some song blaring through the speakers about going “all night longer” or something of the sort, and people were dancing and singing along. He also definitely smelled weed coming from somewhere as well. So all in all, by the standards of college kids who actually enjoyed normal, fun things like parties, Zuko was sure it was a banger.

Zuko preferred the nights where he, his sister, Mai, and Ty Lee would sit around one of their off-campus apartments, drink, and have a game night. Or even the nights where they’d all pile onto his and Mai’s couch with cheap wine in hand and watch The Bachelor. (Zuko would pretend until his very dying day that he hated that show and the girls forced it on him when in reality it was dumb and sometimes funny and lowkey entertaining and he definitely had a soft spot for it. Beyond the point.) So no, Zuko wasn’t against alcohol and he definitely had nothing against weed...he just preferred a more low-key setting to consume them in.

He had been standing in the corner, nursing a shitty Bud Lite (at least it wasn’t Natty) with Mai for the majority of the evening until she decided to go find her girlfriend and leave him to fend for himself. Not that he could blame her. Mai might have been his best friend, and former high school girlfriend before they realized they were both very much gay, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t allowed to go have fun while he was being a miserable, wet blanket.

He’d finished the remains of his beer and decided that maybe he’d brave the jungle juice, even if it meant leaving his corner of safety. At least sipping on a drink would give him something to do and make him feel like less of an outcast. 

So Zuko weaved his way through the crowd, grabbed a cliché red cup from a stack on the counter, and poured himself some jungle juice. He took a sip and immediately regretted it. It wasn’t _bad_ per se, but between the amount of sugar and the amount of vodka in it, Zuko knew it was a hangover in a cup. 

Zuko was heading back to his corner of safety when someone bumped into him, narrowly avoiding making Zuko spill his drink.

“Oh woah, sorry man,” a voice said as two strong hands gripped his arms, steadying him. 

Zuko was about to mutter something about how it was okay until he was looking up into the eyes of none other than Sokka.

Tall, blue-eyed, broad-shouldered, Sokka. 

Sokka, co-captain of the hockey team and built like a brick shithouse. Sokka, whom Zuko had seen around before, and most definitely thirsted after, but had never had the guts to actually say much of anything to. They ran in similar circles, what with Suki and Ty Lee being friends, but had never really interacted one-on-one. 

Sokka was wearing a deep cut-out blue tank top that showed off his arms, and therefore the delicately geometric ink of the tribal tattoos that wound around his biceps. His hair was down around his face tonight instead of up in its usual half-pony that showed off his undercut. 

The guy was definitely drunk and his hazy eyes were lazily taking stock of Zuko’s face and body, which immediately made Zuko bristle.

“Something on my face?” Zuko tried not to spit. He’d had the scar for eight years now, he was used to the stares. It didn’t mean he had to tolerate it. 

“No, it’s just, like congratulations on your...everything,” Sokka said, gesturing to Zuko from head to toe and looking impressed.

And, okay. That threw Zuko for a loop.

“My...everything?”

“Sorry. I don’t mean to like, objectify you. Trust me, when I first met Suki freshman year she taught me to drink my respect women - and I guess respect everyone? - juice. But I’m not trying to objectify you? So maybe I’m just...appreciating you?”

“Appreciating...me,” Zuko questioned, still not grasping what in the hell this beautiful, drunk idiot was going on about.

“You are like. Stupid hot,” Sokka said, then blinked, as if he were surprised at himself for actually saying that out loud. 

Meanwhile, Zuko felt like he was spiraling into another dimension. Sokka. Hot, hockey-playing, _literal heartthrob_ , Sokka, who had everyone at the school that was attracted to men (and even some who weren’t) thirsting after him, thought _Zuko_ was hot. 

Yeah, the shitty jungle juice he’d had a single sip of must’ve transported Zuko into a parallel universe because how on Agni’s green earth was that even logistically possible?

“You think...I’m hot?” Zuko repeated, still not quite grasping what the hell his life was right now.

“I mean yeah. Have you seen yourself? You’re beautiful. I’ve never seen anyone with eyes like yours,” Sokka said, making eye contact that made Zuko feel hot all over. “And I’m always a sucker for a man with tats.”

Sokka gave him a lazy, lopsided grin as he reached out to brush the dragon half-sleeve that was peeking out from Zuko’s black tee. He lifted up the barest edge of Zuko’s t-shirt sleeve while doing so and Zuko felt like his skin was on fire from the simple touch alone. 

Still, Zuko’s mind started to reel. There was _no way_ this was real. Sokka had to be either heavily impaired, doing this on a dare, or straight-up out of his mind. Sokka was charming, smart, hot, and - not to mention - well known around campus. He could probably have any other person he wanted. Zuko could not put two and two together as to why he was flirting with _Zuko_ of all people. 

Zuko’s thought process and what seemed to be Sokka’s attempt to devour Zuko with his eyes alone were both cut short by a resounding crash from outside followed but the unmistakable cheer of a bunch of drunk college kids. 

“Aw _hell._ Smellerbee’s gonna be so mad. I promised her and Longshot we _wouldn’t_ destroy the house,” Sokka groaned. “I should probably go take care of whatever _that_ was.” 

Sokka gave him one last over, and it _did_ feel like an appreciating gaze rather than a lecherous one. 

“I’ll see you around?” The question was tentative, soft and all Zuko could do was nod before Sokka was giving him one last slow smile and disappearing into the crowd. 

Zuko made his way back to his corner on autopilot, replaying the entire conversation in his head. Mai and Ty Lee circled back barely fifteen minutes later, finding Zuko slumped against the wall, probably looking like he’d seen a ghost. 

“You okay?” Ty Lee asked, brows furrowed and big eyes narrowed in concern. 

“Yeah,” Zuko said. He _was_ fine. He just…could not stop thinking about Sokka. 

“Would you like to leave?” Mai asked. 

“I think so.”

Without question, the girls lead him out of the party and into the sticky, late August air. The apartment he shared with Mai was thankfully barely a ten-minute walk from the house, both of them skirting the edge of campus. 

Ty Lee gave his hand a squeeze and his unscarred cheek a kiss before slipping into Mai’s room, no doubt to wash the party off in her girlfriend’s en-suite. Mai paused before following. 

“You sure you’re okay?” Her eyes narrowed. “Do I need to have words with anyone? Someone I need to threaten?”

“I’m a big boy, Mai,” Zuko huffed, though he was - as always - touched by her fierce protectiveness of him. “But it’s not...bad. I’ll tell you more about it tomorrow.”

She gave him a look that made him know she’d hold him to it. 

Zuko rinsed off quickly in his own shower. When he laid down and closed his eyes, all he could see was warm, brown skin, blue eyes, and that damn smile. One stupid conversation had warped Zuko’s casual, distanced thirst into a fat, raging crush. 

Zuko was such a fool.

* * *

Sokka was in agony, and Suki was evil. 

He told her this much as she not so quietly burst into his room, opened all his blinds, and let the evil, evil sun in to pierce through Sokka’s sensitive eyes.

“It’s past eleven. I want Sunday hangover breakfast. Get your ass out of bed,” Suki said before she tossed a bottle of something at Sokka. “I brought you your big blue Powerade. Now chug it, try to look human, and meet me out in your living room in ten minutes.”

“I changed my mind!” Sokka called after her, uncapping the Powerade and taking a big swig. “You’re not evil! You’re my favorite!”

Twenty minutes later the two of them were sat in the local diner, which was currently crawling with half asleep, mostly hungover college students, and one blue Powerade and a cup of coffee down with eggs and hashbrowns ordered and on their way, Sokka was already feeling much better. 

They were recapping the night - Suki had scored some cute girl’s number - when a memory hit Sokka like a ton of bricks.

“Oh, Spirits,” Sokka said, feeling his stomach drop. “Oh, _fuck._ ”

“What? What happened? Did you completely forget a project or something again?” Suki asked, tone turning accusatory.

“Hey, that was one time! I banged it out in less than twenty-four hours and got an A, thank you very much,” Sokka shot back, then grimaced. “But no, it’s not that.”

“Then what?” Suki pressed.

“I may have - very drunkenly - told Zuko...that I think he’s hot last night?” Sokka said, his voice rising in pitch. It was all flooding back to the forefront of his mind. He buried his face in his hands. “Oh, man.”

Ugh. Not only was that super embarrassing, but he felt like he definitely came off super creepy as well.

“Zuko as in Ty Lee and Mai’s friend Zuko? The one who’s all hot and mysterious and totally out of your league?”

Yeah, no. Suki was evil again. Sokka pulled his hands away from his face to glare at his friend, who was only grinning back at him smugly. 

“You are not being helpful,” he muttered. 

Their food was dropped off, which distracted both of them for a while before Suki piped up against.

“So what are you gonna do about it?”

“Well, I mean. I saw him around here and there last semester but who knows if I’ll even see him again this year. I guess if I run into him again I’ll apologize. Super awkward to do but I don’t think it’ll sit right with me if I see him again and don’t at least try to make reparations for being a drunk hornball.”

“Well, that’s a good start,” Suki said. “But I meant; what are you gonna do about your crush on Zuko?”

Sokka sputtered, nearly choking on his eggs. 

“My _what_ on _who_?”

Suki just rolled her eyes. 

“Look we can beat around the bush and both sit here and pretend you aren’t into the guy, or we can not waste time and develop a game plan.” 

“Game plan? Suki. I barely know the guy! I just think he’s hot. For all we know he could be a horrible person. Or straight,” Sokka argued. 

“He’s definitely not straight and Ty Lee seems to adore him so I highly doubt either of those things are true,” Suki countered. 

“Listen. Just because he likes men and I like men and I’m attracted to him doesn’t mean that one, that attraction is reciprocated, and two that I should pursue him,” Sokka said. “Besides. Season’s starting soon and between hockey and our service frat we both know I don’t have a lot of free time.”

Suki sighed, “that’s always your excuse lately. You haven’t really dated anyone seriously since we broke up.”

“I’m not still in love with you if that’s what you’re wondering,” Sokka muttered and Suki laughed. 

“No, no. I know. I’m just saying. When was the last time you went out on a real date?” Suki asked, not unkindly. 

Sokka honestly couldn’t remember. He’d tested the waters of his newfound bisexuality here and there in the last year and a half that he’d been single but nothing had really stuck. After a few disappointments, Sokka threw himself into his studies and his extracurriculars. It’d been months since he’d even kissed anyone. 

He and Suki had been great together but they realized quickly as much as they loved each other neither of them saw a romantic future with the other. He would always love Suki and she would always be so important to her, but they were better off as best friends. There had been Yue, before Suki, the second semester of his freshman year. But she’d been at their school for a foreign exchange semester and had gone back home at the end of the year. The initial loss had broken his heart, but it had been young love, and looking back he was glad to have known her at all. He still followed her on Instagram and they touched base every so often. She was with someone else now and she seemed happy. 

Sokka wasn’t sure what was holding him back. He guessed he’d rather spend college single than with someone who didn’t make him happy, just for the sake of being in a relationship. Frankly, he was far too busy for that. If he was going to be with someone, _really_ be with someone, that person would have to be someone special. He was willing to wait for that right person. 

“I really don’t want to talk about this right now, Suki,” his tone was firm yet there was no malice in it. He and Suki had always been good at setting and respecting each other’s boundaries. 

She just nodded, no questions asked, and changed the subject. 

“You gonna come to my first gymnastics meet this weekend? It’ll probably be one of the only ones you’ll be able to make this semester with your season starting soon.”

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Sokka promised easily.

* * *

Zuko didn’t know how Mai had convinced him to tag along to Ty Lee’s gymnastics meet the first weekend of the semester, but he didn’t have any real homework or anything else to do, so he wasn’t a hard sell. Even if it did mean he was sitting in a gym at 9:00 on a Saturday morning. 

Still, it was a little strange. He’d tagged along to these meets before but never had Mai or even Ty Lee _insisted_ that he come. Mai had fed him something about how she didn’t want to sit alone in the bleachers and had even offered to buy him coffee. Typically Azula came with her but she had an LSAT prep course that morning so Zuko supposed he was his sister's replacement. He’d be more suspicious if he wasn’t currently sipping on something horrifically and deliciously sugary that Mai had bought him while they waited. 

They were eventually joined by some of Suki’s friends. Zuko recognized Aang and his girlfriend Katara. Aang was part of the same martial arts club on campus and they often competed at the same tournaments. Zuko liked Aang. Aang had a warm, sunny demeanor that could make anyone feel welcome and included. He was also a fun partner to spar with, even if he did best Zuko more times than not. 

Aang greeted Zuko excitedly, reintroducing Katara and introducing his other friend, Toph. They settled in, Aang filling his and Mai’s previous comfortable silence with excited chatter. Shortly before the meet was set to start, Aang was briefly distracted, waving someone over behind Zuko. 

“Sokka! Over here!” Aang called. 

Zuko tried - and failed - not to whip his head around to catch sight of the object of his current affections climbing up the bleachers towards them, grinning. 

“Hey guys!” he said, flushed and a little breathless. His hair was up in its little half pony and he was wearing a t-shirt this today, both of which were better for Zuko’s heart rate in comparison to their previous encounter. He still looked good as hell though.

“You know Mai, right?” Aang said.

“Yeah, hey,” Sokka waved at her.

“And I don’t know if you’ve met Zuko before?”

Sokka froze briefly, made brief eye contact with Zuko then focused back on Aang. 

“I - yeah. Uh, we’ve met,” Sokka said. 

Aang barely noticed the stutter. Katara narrowed her eyes while Toph tilted her head, furrowing her brow. Mai just smirked coolly. He’d told her all about his chance encounter with Sokka at the party the morning after it happened. 

“Oh, cool!” Aang said, unphased as ever. “Well c’mon, sit down!” 

Sokka joined them, sitting on the other side of Toph, and therefore as far away from Zuko as possible. Zuko felt his heart sink and the embarrassment kick in. Of course, Sokka would pretend like nothing had happened between them the other night. Maybe he was so drunk he didn’t remember. Maybe Sokka was just trying to hook up with him and got distracted by whatever commotion had happened and had no interest in him in the light of day. Zuko’s mind reeled through a good portion of the beginning of the meet. He couldn’t even focus on much of what was going on. 

“I’m gonna go grab a water or something, does anyone want anything?” Zuko asked during a brief lull between events. 

“I’ll come with you,” Sokka said, nearly immediately. 

Zuko was surprised at the offer, all he could say was, “okay,” before he was leading Sokka out to the concession stand.

Once they were out in the open, Zuko felt a gentle hand on his arm as Sokka said his name softly. Zuko turned around, eyeing him expectantly. To his surprise, Sokka looked like he was walking to the gallows.

“I just wanted to apologize,” Sokka started. 

And...oh?

“For the other night? I mean I was pretty drunk, but that’s no excuse. So, I’m sorry if I was disrespectful or creepy or if I made you feel objectified. I promise I’m not normally that forward and that sober-me has slightly more manners.”

Zuko took a moment to take all of that in. Sokka’s dumb, awkward apology really wasn’t helping Zuko’s whole crush thing he had going on. Hot _and_ respectful? How annoying.

“No need to apologize,” Zuko replied. “If it’s any consolation, if you were objectifying me, that’s the most polite way anyone’s ever done so. Besides, you were drunk. People say all sorts of crazy things they don’t mean when they’re drunk. 

“Oh no I meant it,” Sokka said, then got that look on his face like he’d had the other night at the party. Like he’d shared too much and was kicking himself for it. “Normally I’d just keep it to myself or find a more respectable way to tell the person instead of literally just blurting out how hot I think they are when I don’t even really know them.”

“Well in that case…,” Zuko decided to be bold for once. “Guess it doesn’t hurt that the person who was objectifying me by calling me ‘stupid hot’ is also stupid hot himself.”

Zuko tried to keep the smug grin off his face as he turned and left Sokka there, going to the concessions stand to get a couple of bottles of water. He handed one to Sokka on his way back who looked like he was still computing what Zuko had just said to him.

When they went back to their seats, Sokka chose to sit on Zuko’s other side, rather than go back to sitting on the end near Toph. He made comments here and there about performances and scores to Zuko.

“You seem to know the sport pretty well,” Zuko noted.

“Oh, yeah. Well, Suki and I dated for a while there my sophomore year so I came to a lot of her meets then,” Sokka mentioned offhand then paused and added quickly. “We’re like not...together anymore. We are both very much single now. If you were wondering.”

“Thanks for updating me on your relationship status,” Zuko drawled, hoping Sokka would catch onto his humor. 

“You’re kinda a jerk, you know that?” Sokka said, but he said it like it was a compliment. “Good thing jerks are kinda my favorite,” he added motioning a thumb to his friends.

“If anyone of us is a jerk here, it’s _you_ , snoozles,” Toph countered, which only made Sokka laugh.

“Remind me why you’re here again? You can’t even _see_ what the girls are doing,” Sokka teased. 

“That’s what the announcer’s for,” Toph stuck out her tongue. “Besides, Twinkletoes always fills in the gaps for me. Like he does at your games.”

Sokka held his hands up in surrender and the group went back to watching the meet. 

Ty Lee wiped the floor with both her beam and floor routines and Suki cleaned up on the vault and uneven bars. As both girls came out to meet their friends after the meet had wrapped up, they each seemed happy with both their individual and team placements. 

Ty Lee immediately bounced into Mai’s arms, kissing her on both cheeks before pulling Zuko into a hug, all while chattering excitedly about the meet. He was surprised when she broke away from him to hug all four of the others as well. He knew she’d gotten close to Suki last semester but had no idea she’d grown that close to the others as well. 

They all made polite conversation, Zuko, of course, remained on the fringes until he heard Mai say;

“You guys should come to game night at our apartment next Friday,” Mai offered, but Zuko knew her well enough to pick up on the sly tone in her voice. 

“Ohmigosh, _yes_!” Ty Lee seconded, bouncing on her heels. “Normally it’s just the three of us plus Zuko’s sister, but it would be even more fun with all of you there. What do you think?” 

“We’re in,” Suki said, almost instantaneously and Aang and Katara agreed easily. 

The little one, Toph shrugged, and said, “well I _am_ blind so I’m a little limited on games I can play but if there’s alcohol there I’m in.” 

Everyone turned to Sokka. 

“Uh, well I do have practice that afternoon -” Zuko felt his heart plummet “- so I might be a little late, but I’ll definitely come after.” 

He gave Zuko a small private smile before everyone said their goodbyes and went their separate ways.

Later that night, Zuko got a follow request from Sokka on Instagram. He immediately accepted, following Sokka back. He’d definitely come across Sokka’s page before, briefly thirsted, and then left. But now he shamelessly scrolled back through an embarrassing amount of Sokka’s pictures, being extra cautious not to double-tap any of them. It was mostly pictures of him and his friends with some pictures of him playing hockey or on the ice peppered in with some obvious thirst traps. Regardless of how pleasant those were to look at, Zuko didn’t linger on them long. They just reminded him of how incredibly desirable and out of his league Sokka was. 

Zuko decided that his favorite by far was a picture of Sokka back home from the summer with two older men. Both of them had the same warm, brown skin but one of them looked more like Sokka than the other. The caption read “Still can’t believe Katara is the only straight one in the family” with a little rainbow flag emoji and it genuinely made Zuko chuckle to himself. 

Zuko thought of Ozai and wondered what it was like to grow up in a house where your sexuality isn’t just accepted, but maybe even celebrated. He had come leaps and bounds in his own journey, and he was lucky to consider Iroh his father for nearly ten years now, but that didn’t erase the environment he’d grown up in. 

Still. His heart gave a little flutter of hope thinking back to his and Sokka’s interactions earlier that day. Maybe his crush wasn’t so hopeless after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> fun fact my hangover drink of choice in college was a giant blue powerade. my friends knew anytime they saw me with a big ole blue powerade i was Not Doing Well  
>   
> next time: a game night, a hockey game, and maybe a little more...we'll see ;)  
> also thinking this will be roughly 4 chapters give or take and 15-20k...maybe more. sometimes my writing gets away from me...let me know what you think +if you'd like to see more!
> 
> feel free to come say hi on [tumblr!](https://khaleeseas.tumblr.com/)


	2. Chapter 2

“So,” Azula said casually as they washed dishes together while Mai and Ty Lee set up for game night. “Who’s the boy?”

Zuko shot a disbelieving look over his sister’s head and to the other girls. Ty Lee giggled and Mai just shrugged. 

“How else were we supposed to explain the addition of five new people to game night?” Mai asked. 

“I don’t know! Say we wanted to branch out and make new friends?” Zuko shot back, though there was no real heat to his voice. She had a point. 

“Yeah because  _ that’s  _ so believable,” Mai muttered. 

“Alright enough, you two,” Azula said. “I was just trying to weasel some info out of Zuzu here before this mystery man showed up tonight.”

“For the love of all that is holy,  _ please _ do not call me that in front of him tonight,” Zuko groaned. He was already nervous to have Sokka over in the first place. He didn’t need the looming threat of Azula’s ability to embarrass him without even trying added to the equation. 

“Okay,  _ sheesh _ , I’ll lay off. For now,” which was Azula’s way of saying “I’ll find a way to get you to talk later.”

Zuko knew she meant well, and this was how his sister showed she cared in her own weird way. It had taken them a lot of time, and a lot of therapy (both individual and together) to get to the point they were at now. Growing up in a toxic household where they were consistently pitted against each other did not quite make for a healthy sibling relationship. It took them both a long time to unpack the idea that they had to compete against and one-up each other at every opportunity. Things were much better now - they still had their days, they were brother and sister after all - and Zuko finally felt like he had an actual sister instead of a shadow to live in. 

Eventually, there was a knock on the door and Mai let Aang, Katara, Suki, and Toph in. Aang carried two packs of what looked like craft beer and Suki brought both red and white wine.

They mostly sat around making small talk and munching on snacks while drinking casually. It surprised Zuko a little how well their two groups meshed. For all their differences, it seemed they were still quite alike. 

Zuko was enjoying himself, this really was more his element than a party. Still, he couldn’t help glancing at the door every so often, like Sokka was going to burst in at any moment.

“Calm it, Sparky,” Toph eventually ribbed at him. “If Sokka said he’d be here, he’ll be here. He’s good at upholding his promises.” 

“Wha - I’m not - ”

“Oh save, it,” Toph waved him off. “I may be blind, but I’m not  _ blind _ . I can feel you watching that door like a puppy waiting for its owner to come home.”

Zuko sputtered. Toph just patted him consolingly on the shoulder.

Finally,  _ finally, _ there was a knock on the door. Ty Lee was closest, so she went to open it. Zuko had to nearly physically restrain himself from leaping off the couch and getting it himself.

“I brought pizza!” Was the first thing Sokka said as he walked into the apartment. Everyone made excited noises at that, moving to get up. 

He was quite obviously freshly showered, his hair was back down again and looked like it had been hastily towel-dried. He wore grey sweats and another one of those stupid, deep cut tanks in black this time. 

“Pizza? I like him already,” Azula teased, voice low. She playfully shoved at Zuko as she got up to grab herself a slice. The others followed suit, Toph and Aang basically wrestling to get there first. Everyone else was slightly more respectful, and Sokka stood back and watched his friends fill up their plates with a fond smile. Zuko hung back, not wanting to get caught in the melee. 

Once everyone else had taken their pick, Zuko and Sokka followed suit. As they met up at the counter that housed the pizzas, Sokka said “hey you” with a playful hip check and it made Zuko’s heart flutter. 

“You first,” Sokka said gesturing to the food. 

Zuko took a slice of each, then Sokka followed his lead, taking two slices of each instead. Zuko raised a judgemental eyebrow. 

“Don't give me that look,” Sokka chided. “I’m always ravenous after practice or a game. Hockey is one of my favorite ways to burn a shit-ton of calories.”

“What are your other favorite ways?” Zuko asked, mostly without thinking. Sokka’s expression was briefly that of pleased shock before it settled on something lewder.

“Oh, I could tell you  _ all  _ of the ways I like to burn a shit-ton of calories,” Sokka said suggestively.

“Tell? Or show?” Zuko asked, lowering his voice.

“Will you two stop flirting over there,” Toph yelled from where she sat cross-legged on the floor. “We’re trying to start a round of Cards Against Humanity and we can’t do that if you two are canoodling in the corner!”

Zuko was surprised to see the barest hint of a blush rise up over Sokka’s high cheekbones at Toph’s comments. 

They headed over to the living room area where people were spread out over the couches, as well as sitting around the coffee table to form a circle. Zuko took his spot back on the couch next to Azula, and as much as he wanted to sit next to Sokka, sitting across from him was almost better. He got to see Sokka’s expression as he listened to the cards being read off, he got to watch him throw his head back in raucous laughter at the particularly good ones, but he also got to witness Sokka’s softer side as he helped Toph out by whispering what her cards said to her.

Every time Sokka picked one of Zuko’s cards as the winner of his round, he got a special smile from him, and their fingers brushed anytime Sokka passed him his winning card. By the end of the round, Zuko got to see a touch of Sokka’s competitive side as Azula won the game by having won the most rounds and Sokka called for a rematch. He lost by one card. Azula made sure to rub it in. 

After they finished the round everyone hung around for a while to drink and just hang out. The small talk from earlier turned into more interesting and serious discussions. All in all, Zuko was having a great time and everyone was getting along really well.

Still, Zuko felt Sokka’s presence in the room like a live wire, he was hyper-aware of every time Sokka so much as moved. He tried his damnedest not to stare, but he did let himself catch a few glances. 

If it was any consolation, more often than not, anytime he went to look at Sokka, Sokka was already looking at him. He didn’t even look away when Zuko caught him, only smiled softly. 

As the evening wound down and there was talk of “we should do this again” Sokka piped up.

“You guys should all come to the home opener this Friday for the hockey season,” Sokka said. “It’s supposed to be a great game, our teams are evenly matched. I’ll even get you front and center tickets like I did for these guys. You can all sit together.”

“I’m in,” Azula said quickly. Zuko, Ty Lee, and Mai readily agreed as well.

“Perfect,” Sokka beamed. “I’ll leave your tickets at the call box. I’ll put them under Zuko’s name.”

From there everyone packed up and said goodbye. Sokka shot him a private smile and a wave on his way out the door.

* * *

Zuko had only ever actually been to one hockey game before while at college, his very first semester as a freshman. It had been with Jet and they’d sat in the nosebleeds and Jet had treated him like a bro the entire time instead of someone he was fucking on the regular. Zuko had been foolish enough to believe when Jet had asked him to tag along that it would be a  _ date _ but it was quite the opposite. 

It was the first time he’d ever seen Sokka, actually, now that he was thinking back on it. Jet had pointed him out. Said he was supposed to be some hotshot prodigy, like his father who’d also played for the school back in the day. Jet had scoffed his doubts, claiming that hotshot or not, there was no way they’d let some freshman get enough ice time to even prove it. 

Sokka had ended up scoring two of the game’s five goals that night, effectively shutting Jet up. 

Jet had thankfully graduated two years ago when Zuko was a sophomore and moved to Ba Sing Se. Zuko hadn’t heard from him since, and that was absolutely for the best. 

This game, things were so astronomically different, it was almost laughable. Sokka had promised them rinkside seats along with the rest of his friends - “I’m the senior co-captain, I can pull some strings” - and he’d delivered. 

Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee all actually came too and Zuko wasn’t sure if it was out of support or if it was so they’d have blackmail material on Zuko drooling over some guy for the rest of his life. Probably a culmination of both. When they’d arrived, Sokka’s other friends were already in their seats. Aang waved them over excitedly and Zuko took the seat to his left, Azula and the girls filing in to complete the row after Zuko. 

Both teams come out to warm up shortly after they were seated. Zuko spotted Sokka - number seventeen - immediately, mostly because his helmet was off but also because Zuko had become so aware of the other man, he was sure he’d be able to pick him out in any room. The grown out part of Sokka’s hair was pulled back in a braid and he skated around the ice a few times before stopping by the home bench to speak with his coaches. 

Sokka’s friends cheered his name and Sokka looked their way, sending a grin and a wave in the group’s direction. He made brief eye contact with Zuko, who he gave a small, pleased smile to before throwing his helmet on and hitting the ice again. 

“Katara always french braids his hair before a home game,” Aang explained. “It’s his pre-game ritual. Hockey players can be  _ very _ superstitious.”

Zuko watched as Sokka paused in the middle of the ice to do some stretches with one of his teammates. He moved down to his knees and stretched one leg, the other. He then placed both knees on the ice, spreading them slowly to open up and stretch out his hips. From there he went into an honest to god split and Zuko felt his face getting warm. Sokka was  _ flexible.  _ And the way he skated was both powerful and graceful at the same time. Zuko really didn’t know much about hockey but he could tell by the way Sokka carried himself that he was  _ good _ . The ice was obviously Sokka’s element and seeing Sokka in his element was doing  _ things _ to Zuko. He was trying to hide that fact, seeing as he was not only in public but in the presence of Sokka’s friends and his sister. Thankfully, Sokka got off the ice and began to skate around with the others, practicing his shooting here and there. 

As the teams seemed to be wrapping up, he felt Azula swipe at the edge of his mouth.

“You have a little drool there, brother,” Azula teased and Zuko batted her hand away shooting her a glare that held no true malice behind it. Azula just gave him a wickedly smug grin in return.

The players did one last round, Sokka bringing up the rear. His helmet was off again and he was flushed and grinning. His friends cheered loudly for him as he approached. As he passed, Sokka paused briefly to toss the puck he’d been practicing with to Zuko who - thoroughly surprised by the gesture - only caught it thanks to his martial-arts-honed reflexes and the grace of the Spirits themselves. Sokka threw Zuko a wink over his shoulder before following the rest of his team off the ice and back through the tunnels that led to the locker rooms before the game started.

It took both Zuko and the group a moment to process what had just happened. Zuko just sat there, holding the puck in his hands for dear life while everyone around him reacted to Sokka’s bold move.

Ty Lee squealed, reaching across the other girls to squeeze at Zuko’s hand excitedly. Mai just smiled. Azula looked impressed. Zuko was mildly terrified to face Katara and the others, but when he looked to his right Aang had a soft, happy expression on his face. He braved looking at Katara, whose face mimicked her boyfriend, though she seemed to be assessing Zuko. 

“He’s never done that before,” Katara said. “Not even to Suki.” 

Suki confirmed that with a nod and she looked even more impressed than Azula. 

Toph just muttered, “you guys are gross,” but there was a small smile on her lips as well. 

The time before the start of the game passed in a blur as Zuko flipped the puck over and over again in his hand, thinking. He’d heard the secondary meaning in Katara’s words. Zuko had believed the gossip from others at their school that Sokka was a player, and Sokka certainly hadn’t dated anyone in a while. But the more Zuko got to know Sokka, the less he believed that reputation. 

Katara had said “he’s never done that before” and the “so he must think you’re special, don’t screw it up” was fairly clear, to Zuko at least. It still all felt surreal. They weren’t even really  _ anything _ yet, had never even hung out one-on-one, let alone gone on a date. But Zuko couldn’t deny the draw he felt to Sokka, and he supposed it was reciprocated. 

Zuko was still lost in his own musings by the time the lights dimmed, the crowd started cheering, and the announcer was listing off the players as they came back onto the ice. 

As the game kicked off, Zuko was surprised at how much more he enjoyed the game and how much more into it he was this time around. He wasn’t sure if it was the present company - Sokka’s friends were quite vocal as they watched the game and very invested - the fact that their seats were right in the thick of the action, or if it was because he had someone in the game to be invested in himself. 

Zuko really had no idea what was going on at the start, but as the game progressed and Aang and Katara explained lots of what was happening on the ice, Zuko started to pick up on the basic rules. 

Hockey was fast - Zuko could barely keep his eyes on Sokka, let alone the puck - and it was really quite exciting. After their home team scored a goal, it seemed that things picked up in intensity, and as the game neared the end of the second period the teams were neck and neck, both at three goals. The tension built into the third period. There were a lot of near-goals that had everyone - even Zuko and the girls - up out of their seats, only to groan in disappointment when it was saved by one goalie or another. Soon, the penalties started to rack up as the players felt the pressure, each team growing more and more desperate to be the winner. 

The crowd was electric, cheering and shouting at every play and the adrenaline pumping through the arena was contagious. 

Then it happened. 

Three minutes left in the third period, Sokka scored his team’s fourth goal. The eruption of cheers from the home crowd was nearly deafening. Zuko couldn’t stop himself from leaping to his feet and yelling excitedly as Aang hugged him from the side, jumping up and down. Even Azula had screamed out a “ _ fuck _ yes!” and the other girls had joined in the excitement with their cheers as well. 

Sokka skated away from the goal, grinning and pumping his fist - a ‘ _ celly _ ’ Aang had called it - as his teammates on the ice all circled him in a celebratory hug. The next three minutes - which with timeouts and the way the clock ran ended up being far more than three minutes - of the game passed with tense anticipation. But as the clock ran down to zero, their team officially winning, the whole stadium was chanting and cheering. As the buzzer sounded, the rest of the team skated off the benches to dogpile Sokka on the ice. 

Once things settled a little bit, and his teammates climbed off of him, Sokka was on the ice - helmet off again - absolutely beaming, but there was still something so sheepish and humble about his expression, even as his teammates gassed him up over the win. 

Sokka looked over, once again locking his gaze onto Zuko. If possible, his grin got impossibly wider. He gestured to the teammate he’d been speaking with to give him a moment and then he turned and skated right towards the glass where Zuko and the gang were sitting, a determined look on his face. 

Zuko’s heart felt like it was about to burst out of his chest as Sokka stopped in front of him. Zuko knew he was saying something to him through the glass, but between the shouts around him and the sound of blood pumping in his own ears, Zuko could barely hear him.

“ _ What? _ ” Zuko yelled back through the glass.

“I  _ said _ ,” Sokka shouted, smile not faltering, “will you go on a date with me?”

Oh.

“Oh,” Zuko said, probably too quietly, then raised his voice so Sokka could hear. “Yes.  _ Yes _ !”

Sokka let out a whoop then yelled, “I’ll find you after the game!”

He skated away, pumping his fist much like he’d done after he scored the winning goal. He looked back one last time to smile incredulously at Zuko over his shoulder before disappearing with the rest of his team into the tunnel that led to the lockers. 

* * *

Zuko waited in the lobby of the stadium with Aang and Katara. Toph and Suki had left, and Zuko sent his girls home too, insisting they didn’t have to wait for him. Mai told him she’d see him at home with a look that said “and you’d better tell me every detail.”

He was talking excitedly with Katara and Aang, replaying the awesome game, when someone clearing their throat behind him made Zuko turn around.

“Hey, guys. Some game, huh?”

Sokka was there, freshly showered, in a hockey t-shirt and shorts that only covered half of his - thick, incredibly toned,  _ wow _ \- thighs. Zuko gulped. 

Katara saved him from doing anything dumb - such as launching himself at Sokka like the heroine in a bodice ripper and begging to be taken right then and there - by immediately pulling her brother into an excited hug. Sokka laughed and ruffled her hair before pulling Aang in to join them. He looked up at Zuko over Katara’s head and smiled.

As they pulled away, Katara cleared her throat. 

“Aang and I will wait for you outside,” she said before grinning knowingly at Zuko. She linked her hand with Aang’s, dragging him off.

“Aw c’mon Katara, I wanna watch this!” Aang complained as they disappeared through the automatic sliding doors.

Zuko turned back from watching them go to see Sokka eying him intently.

“Hi,” Zuko said, shyly, feeling the blush on his cheeks,

“Hi,” Sokka parroted, all of his bravado from earlier gone. He cleared his throat. “Wanna give me your phone so I can put my number in?”

“Yeah, absolutely,” Zuko said, fumbling slightly as he reached into his pocket to hand Sokka his phone. 

“Just text me so I have your number and I’ll let you know my practice schedule so we can plan something. Let’s aim for this weekend if that works for you?”

Sokka quickly typed his name and number in as a contact and saved it, handing the phone back to Zuko. 

“Yeah, this weekend is good,” Zuko said, taking his phone back. He quickly passed it to his other hand, pocketed it, and in a moment of bravery caught Sokka’s fingers as they tried to retreat. He pulled Sokka in minutely, just enough so that he could lean in and leave the barest of a kiss on Sokka’s cheekbone. He heard Sokka give a ragged exhale.

As he pulled back, Zuko watched as Sokka’s eyelashes briefly fluttered before his eyes opened all the way, revealing an intensely vulnerable look in those beautiful, blue eyes. Now Zuko  _ really _ had to get out of there before he did something dumb.

“I should go,” Zuko whispered. “Mai’s waiting up.” 

“I can walk you home!” Sokka offered. 

“I’ve got it from here, but thank you,” Zuko said genuinely. “I’ll text you?”

“I’ll look forward to it,” Sokka said softly. 

Zuko backed away slowly, feeling light as air, wanting to look at Sokka for as long as he could before finally turning around and making his way out the doors. 

He passed Katara and Aang on his way out, waving at them before he made his way down the sidewalk.

“Aw! Zuko kissed him on the cheek!” He heard Aang exclaim.

“A kiss on the cheek. What is this, a regency novel?” Katara’s voice scoffed, but Zuko could hear the smile in her voice. 

Zuko could care less about what they were gossiping about. He had Sokka’s number in his phone. Sokka had asked him out on a date in a  _ stadium full of people.  _

It was one of the best nights of Zuko’s life.

* * *

Between the high of scoring the winning goal and the  _ higher _ high of Zuko saying yes to him and Sokka giving the other man his number, Sokka was a ball of adrenaline, to say the least. On top of all of that, Zuko gave him a kiss on the cheek that made him feel more things than he’d felt for people he’d actually slept with. The man was going to ruin him. 

He paced around his room, trying not to make too much noise on the old, creaky floorboards, as Aang was dead asleep next door. Maybe he had been too forward. Maybe Zuko would wait until the next day to text Sokka, or maybe Zuko had changed his mind about the date. Sokka  _ had _ put him in a situation where it would’ve been awkward to say no. Maybe he shouldn’t have asked him so publicly. Tui and La what had he been thinking? What if he’d made Zuko uncomfortable and - 

_ *ding* _

Sokka nearly dove to snatch his phone off his bed, heart racing when a number he didn’t recognize popped up.

**(Unknown Number):** Hi. It’s Zuko :)

Sokka immediately took a deep breath, rising panic momentarily quelled. A smiley face! Oh  _ Spirits _ he was so cute. 

**Sokka:** hi Zuko :)) thanks for coming to my game tonight.

Now to get down to business.

**Sokka:** and thanks even more for saying yes to a date 

**Zuko:** Thanks for inviting me and the girls. Those seats were top notch. You were amazing out there. Congrats on that insane game winning goal.

**Zuko:** And I’m really looking forward to that date.

**Sokka:** be careful with all this flattery or you’re going to give me a big head.

**Sokka:** and about that date

**Sokka:** i have an away game this thursday so friday will probably be my recovery day

**Sokka** : that being said…how does saturday night sound? :) i was thinking that new place they just put in a couple blocks from campus...there’s a rooftop patio where we could eat if it’s nice. i’ve heard the views up there are amazing.

Sokka watched the three grey bubbles blink, waiting with bated breath.

**Zuko:** Dinner Saturday works for me. And that restaurant sounds perfect.

**Sokka:** ok good :)) i’ll text you later in the week with details!

**Sokka:** night zuko :)

**Zuko:** Goodnight, Sokka :)

Sokka fought the urge to squeal like a little kid as he plugged his phone in to settle in for the night. Saturday was nearly a week away, which felt like forever right about now, but he could do it. It would be so,  _ so _ worth the wait. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> its 2020 azula deserves 1. better and 2. a redemption arc  
> anyway! y'all ever seen the way hockey players stretch on the ice? anyway. look it up.  
> (also, me forcing the gaang and the fire nation kids to be friends: *abby lee miller voice* we're all gonna have FUN)
> 
> as always come say hi on[ tumblr](https://khaleeseas.tumblr.com/).  
> i live for comments so let me know what yall think!  
> next time.....a first date and then some :-)


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a date :-)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> first: let me just thank everyone who left comments on the last chapter, i loved reading what you all think and i just love your comments in general.
> 
> second: **warning** for mentions of ozai + sports related homophobia in this chapter as well as canonical child abuse that goes hand in hand with Zuko's backstory. it's nothing graphic and it's all past tense, but just wanted to warn yall ♡

Zuko spent the next week, smiling at his phone like a dumbass. Even his friends were beginning to notice and Mai had informed him that it was “lowkey creepy” to see him smiling so much. 

To be fair, it was all Sokka’s fault.

He told Mai as such and she just made a retching noise. Still, later that night, she’d patted his knee while they were watching Netflix together and told him quietly that she was happy for him. It had meant a lot coming from Mai.

It wasn’t like they texted 24/7, Zuko really wasn’t a big texter in the first place. But Sokka did text him and reply to his Instagram stories periodically - and vice-versa. Enough to let Zuko know he was thinking of him.

He made the mistake of smiling at a text while at the weekly Tuesday dinner he and Azula had with Iroh. 

“Ooooooh is that your _boyfriend?_ ” Azula teased, attempting to read the text over his shoulder. The text itself wasn’t anything important or inappropriate, it was actually a mundane story about something funny that’d happened to Sokka at practice. Still, Zuko quickly locked his phone and stashed it in his pocket. He hushed Azula quickly, but it was too late. Iroh peeked his head around the corner from where he was making dinner in the kitchen.

“Boyfriend?” Iroh asked excitedly. “Why have I never heard of this boyfriend before?”

“Because he’s not my boyfriend, Uncle,” Zuko bemoaned. “We haven’t even had a first date yet.”

“Yeah but Zuzu _wants_ him to be his boyfriend,” Azula said, despite Zuko’s glares of protest. 

“Well then,” Iroh said, picking up on Zuko’s discomfort around the situation. He brought out a tray with bowls of freshly made ramen for each of them “If this boy does eventually become Zuko’s boyfriend, I’ll expect to meet him at a Tuesday dinner in the future. When Zuko’s ready, of course. Now, Azula. How’s everything going with your debate team so far this semester?” 

Zuko shot his Uncle a grateful look as Azula began to explain how their team was going to be so good they’d make their competition _cry_ . A lot of her edges had been softened over the years, but she was definitely still _Azula_ at her core.

As he left that night, arms full of leftovers in tupperware, Iroh put a comforting hand on his shoulder. 

“Have fun on your date,” Iroh said. “Be yourself. I’m very proud of the man you’ve become and if this boy doesn’t like you, that’s on him.”

Zuko couldn’t help but give his Uncle an awkward side-hug. Iroh truly was ten times the father Ozai could ever hope to be.

“Thank you, Uncle,” Zuko said, thickly. 

“I meant what I said about expecting to meet him...when the time comes,” Iroh smiled coyly.

* * *

**Zuko:** Hey. Good luck at your game tonight :)

Zuko sent the text, knowing Sokka’s phone was off before his away game, on the following Thursday night. He’d let Zuko know as much, but Zuko still felt the urge to wish him luck, even if he’d only see it after. So he went about his evening, finishing an assignment for one of his senior level classes and putting the local channel on that would show Sokka’s game. He watched it idly, still not fully understanding a lot of the calls, checking the score every now and again. It was weird, catching glimpses of Sokka on the TV every so often. 

It was shortly after ten and Zuko was freshly showered, settling into bed - he was both an early sleeper and an early riser - when Sokka replied.

**Sokka:** thank you :))) you’ll have to send me good luck texts more often

 **Sokka:** we won in a shutout!!

 **Zuko:** I know. I was watching while finishing up some homework. :)

 **Sokka:** omg thats so endearing. really. thats so sweet of you

 **Zuko:** I still don’t fully understand a lot of what’s going on...but I really like watching you play

It took a moment for Sokka to reply. Zuko prayed he wasn’t coming off too strong. 

**Sokka:** anytime you wanna come see me play in person you just let me know. those tickets are yours

 **Sokka:** also i cant wait to see you again. 

**Sokka:** is saturday still good for you?

 **Zuko:** I appreciate that. And yes, Saturday still works. 

**Sokka:** i was thinking we go to Kirachu Kitchen? thats the place with the rooftop deck i told you about. Its right off campus too 

**Zuko:** Yeah that sounds nice :)

 **Sokka:** perfect! did you wanna meet up and walk or do you want me to pick you up and drive there?

 **Zuko:** Let’s meet up. It’s so close to campus, it’d honestly be more of a hassle for you to come get me and find parking anyway.

 **Zuko:** Thank you for offering, though.

 **Sokka:** of course :) whatever works for you. lets meet at 715 at that fountain outside the student center? The restaurant is only like a 5-10 min walk from there

 **Zuko:** That works for me!

 **Sokka:** awesome!

 **Sokka:** cant wait :)

 **Zuko:** Me either :)

* * *

“Help me, Suki, you’re my only hope!” Sokka called dramatically towards his phone. 

Aang held the phone up, Suki’s bored expression on FaceTime taking up his screen.

“You have ten minutes,” Suki deadpanned. “Then I have to get back to practice.”

“Aang and Katara have already vetoed three of my outfit choices for my date with Zuko tonight, but I don’t trust them because they are both tragically heterosexual,” Sokka explained with mock disappointment.

His sister glared, Aang seemed nonplussed.

“We’re trying to _help_ ,” Katara said. 

“It’s been nearly thirty minutes and we’ve all gotten nowhere! This is important, I have to look good. I can’t show up to this date looking like - ” 

“Wear your dark wash skinny jeans, the ones that look like they’re vacuum-sealed to your thighs and your tan Chelsea boots. And wear that one printed pale blue button-up, the one that makes your eyes pop and your skin look extra nice,” Suki interrupted. “Leave the top three buttons undone, french tuck it, and make sure your sleeves are rolled up a little so he can see your tattoos. You’ll knock him dead. Or at least make him want you enough so that he’ll look past your obvious idiocy long enough to want a second date with you.”

“Suki. My angel, my savior. What would I do without you?” Sokka asked, dramatically.

“Crash and burn,” Suki answered with a grin. “Have fun tonight. And you’d better be the gentleman I know you can be.”

“I will! I promise!” Sokka said before hanging up. He looked at his roommate and his sister. “See how easy that was? Told you this wasn’t a job for you straighties.”

Katara just rolled her eyes fondly, smacking Sokka lightly upside the head as she left his room. 

“Watch the hair!” Sokka hissed.

Aang gave him two thumbs up as he followed Katara out.

“We’ll be waiting up to hear how it goes!”

* * *

“Are you  _ sure _ I look okay?” Zuko asked, standing in front of Mai’s full-length mirror. 

“For the millionth time, yes,” Mai said, firmly.

“You look hot!” Ty Lee emphasized fiddling with where his vertical striped button-up was tucked into his nicest (see:  _ not _ ripped) black skinnies. Paired with his good (see: least scuffed) pair of black Doc Martens, he had to admit the overall look made him look ten times cooler than he really was. 

“Besides weren’t you just claiming last night that if he doesn’t ‘like you for you’ then he doesn’t deserve you anyway?” Mai challenged. 

“I mean yes! But I still want to look good. I’m allowed to want to look good,” Zuko argued. 

“And you do you look good,” Mai said. “And Sokka literally asked you out in front of the entire school.  _ And _ called you hot to your face when you weren’t even trying. He seems to be charmed by your awkwardness. Run with it.”

Zuko checked his phone, it was almost time for him to meet Sokka.

“I gotta go,” he said, leaving Mai’s room and heading towards the door of their apartment. 

“Good luck! Have fun! Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!” Ty Lee called after him.

“See you when you get back,” Mai added, her way of saying she expected to hear  _ every detail _ by the end of the night.

Despite Mai’s pep talk, it was still hard for Zuko not to let his anxiety take over on his walk to the fountain. 

What if this thing that he’d built up in his head left one or both of them disappointed?

What if the whole night was awkward or bad or Sokka didn’t like him? 

What if Sokka ghosted him after or didn't show up tonight?

Zuko shook his head, trying to clear it of its intrusive thoughts. He refused to let his past experiences ruin something that had the potential to be great before it even happened. It would be fine, he told himself.

It was hard to fight the loud voices in his head, though. And the amount of times Jet had flaked or either straight up ghosted him when they’d had plans to do something still nagged at the back of Zuko’s mind.

But Sokka was different, he’d reminded himself. Sokka wasn’t Jet.

Which was proven even more so by the fact that when Zuko approached the fountain, Sokka was already there, waiting. 

He grinned widely when he caught sight of Zuko, blue eyes sparkling in the glow of the lit fountain. His hair was french braided again, this time tied into a cute little bun at the end. 

He looked incredible with his flowy blue shirt tucked into dark jeans that looked painted on. Zuko was sure they did wonders for Sokka’s hockey ass. They sure were doing his thighs  _ every _ favor possible. 

“Hey,” Zuko said, breathlessly, as he reached the other man, a little unsure of how to greet him. Sokka fixed that by pulling Zuko into a hug that felt less friendly and far more intimate than any hug had the right to be.

“Hi,” Sokka murmured back into his ear while they embraced. They pulled back and Sokka linked their hands like they’d done it a hundred times before. “Ready to go?”

Zuko nodded, already over the moon. 

“I’m glad you chose to walk,” Sokka said, making idle conversation as they strolled through the part of campus that would lead them to the block of bars and restaurants downtown popular with the college kids. “It’s a beautiful night out.”

It was. The night was breezy, and while it was still fairly warm during the day, the sticky August nights had faded into cool, early September evenings that promised of autumn to come.

They made small talk on their walk, conversing about their weeks. It was slightly awkward in the way that all first date small talk was awkward, but Sokka was still easier to talk to than most people Zuko had met.

They reached the restaurant, which looked busy - people waiting outside on benches as well as inside as well, and Zuko felt a brief surge in his anxiety, thinking about having to sit and wait for twenty, thirty minutes maybe and make more awkward small talk. 

“I have a reservation under ‘Sokka’ for seven-thirty p.m.” Sokka told the hostess as they approached the stand. 

Zuko knew it wasn’t that big of a deal, but the fact that Sokka had called ahead and had the forethought to make a reservation was incredibly endearing and  _ thoughtful.  _ Zuko’s brief surge of anxiety was immediately quelled. 

“I’ve heard this place gets busy on the weekends so I wanted to think ahead and make sure we didn’t have to sit here and wait forever,” Sokka explained, a slight blush tinting his cheeks as they followed the hostess through the restaurant and up a flight of stairs to the roof. “Besides, I wanted to make sure we got seats on the rooftop terrace I told you about.”

The rooftop was beautiful. Fairy lights were strung up overhead and around the railings and it overlooked a nice view of the city beyond. The breeze was more pronounced up higher but it was pleasant. Tea lights dotted the tables and soft music was playing from a speaker somewhere in the background. It was an insanely cheesy place to have a first date, and Zuko was soaking in every minute of it. 

They were shown to their seats and shortly thereafter ordered water and a glass of red wine each. Sokka also put in an order for bread and aioli spread as an appetizer which they munched on happily while browsing the menu. Once they’d put in their dinner orders, Sokka relaxed back in his chair and gave Zuko an appraising look.

“You wanna know something crazy? I don’t even know your major,” Sokka admitted, and Zuko laughed at the randomness and absurdity of it all. 

“I don’t know your major either.”

“Aerospace Engineering,” Sokka admitted sheepishly. 

So. 

Hot. Kind. Thoughtful. Sweet.

And _ smart _ ? 

Where did this man come from?

“So I guess you can’t say ‘it’s not rocket science’ when you’re explaining something from one of your classes to someone. Because it’s literally rocket science,” Zuko deadpanned.

Sokka laughed heartily at that, throwing his head back and bringing a hand up to his chest.

“Oh man, that was so bad it was good,” Sokka said. “It’s not just rockets though. I mean yes, it’s aircraft and spacecraft but it’s also mostly engines so sometimes super fancy cars too. I, uh, actually did an internship with Rolls-Royce last summer working on their propulsion systems. It was pretty dope.”

“Humble brag,” Zuko teased. 

“Hey! I worked my ass off for that internship, I can absolutely brag,” Sokka said with a smile. “What about you?”

“Political science,” Zuko admitted. “I’d planned to go into it as a kid to try to make my father proud. He’s a senator. An awful one. But as I got older and grew out of his influence, I decided I wanted to go into politics to hopefully make some positive change. And maybe even kick my dad out of his seat in the senate.” 

Sokka tilted his head and Zuko saw him slowly, but surely, connecting the dots. 

“Oh shit. Your father is Senator Ozai,” Sokka stated. It wasn’t a question. 

“The super right-wing, anti-LGBT, lowkey imperialistic dickhead of a senator? That’s him,” Zuko said. He really tried not to bring up his father ever - and much less on a first date that was really important to him - but Sokka would have to find out eventually, so it was better to potentially scare him off now. 

Instead, he felt Sokka’s hand reach across the table, and come to slowly rest on his arm.

“I can’t imagine what it was like to grow up with a man like that for a father,” Sokka said quietly. “Did you...you don’t still live with him, right?”

Zuko shook his head. “I’ve lived with my Uncle since I was thirteen.”

Sokka didn’t press for more, just rubbed his thumb over Zuko’s arm, but Zuko couldn’t stop at this point. The rest of the words came tumbling out of his mouth without his consent.

“He was an awful man. He pitted Azula and I against each other at every possible turn. He was verbally and emotionally abusive my entire childhood. Then...when I was thirteen, I made the mistake of asking him if boys could like boys the way they liked girls. I saw a side of him, full of rage and hatred that I’d never seen before. I didn’t fully understand until high school that I was gay, but I guess he suspected as much before I knew for sure myself. He threw me out of the house...and he gave me my scar.”

He heard Sokka’s intake of breath.

“Of course he had so much power and influence, it was played off as an accident and he got away with what he did to me. My mother had left us earlier that year and Iroh was the only one who cared enough to take me in. I’ve considered Uncle my true father for a long time now. 

“I was born and bred to be a leader. Just not the kind my father wanted me to be. So I’m going to use the power and influence of my family name and try to do some good with it so that I can maybe make a better future for kids like me. It’s taken me a lot of therapy, but I’m mostly okay with how my life has turned out.”

Zuko paused to take a breath. That was the most he’d shared with anyone in one sitting - other than his therapist - ever. He then remembered this was their  _ first date _ and most normal people did not drop baggage bombs like that on first dates, no matter how strong the connection.

“Oh, Spirits,” Zuko moaned, hiding his face in his hands. “Oh, man. I  _ totally _ overshared.”

He was such an idiot. The night had been going so well, and he had to go and ruin it by talking about his trauma.  _ On a first date _ . 

He felt Sokka gently tug at his arm, coaxing him to pry his hands off his face. Zuko surrendered one hand, hiding his face in the other instead as Sokka intertwined their fingers. 

“Zuko, hey, look at me,” Sokka said and, tentatively, Zuko did. There was no pity in Sokka’s eyes. No judgment either. Just understanding, with a touch of concern. “Thank you for sharing that with me. My mom died when I was really young. So young, it gets harder to remember her as the years pass. I’ve lived more years without my mom than I did with her. 

“My dad ended up remarrying his best friend and former teammate, Bato when Katara and I were in our early teens, so I obviously never got any of that at home. But hockey is a boys’ club through and through. I mean, hell. My dad had to wait to retire from the NHL before he could marry Bato because his agents told him the hockey world ‘wasn’t ready’ for an openly LGBT player. The majority of the guys on my team have been pretty awesome about it but there’s always a couple of outliers. We may not have had the same experiences growing up but...I get it, y’know?”

Zuko squeezed Sokka’s hand in a silent thank you. 

“Also,” Sokka continued, “I’m not a huge fan of politicians in general, but I think you’d make for a great leader. I’d vote for you.”

“You’d better,” Zuko teased, lightly. Seeing the chance to change the subject, Zuko took it. “So...speaking of which, you think you’ll go pro after college?”

“Honestly? Probably not.”

“I truly don’t know anything about hockey, but even I can tell that you’re incredible,” Zuko said, sincerely. 

“Being around you is really good for my ego, you know that?” Sokka was mostly kidding, but Zuko still blushed a little at that. “And maybe you’re right. But I saw the pressure being in the league put my dad under and that’s not really something I think I want for myself. I’m considering going for my Master’s. Either that or I’ll just go work for an engineering firm straight out of college.”

“Kind of a shame. I’ll miss watching you play.”

“Oh, really? I thought you barely understood hockey?” Sokka said playfully. 

“I don’t,” Zuko agreed. “But I understand how hot you look playing.” 

Sokka leaned in closer across the table and murmured, “Is that so?”

“Yeah,” Zuko gulped, unintentionally mirroring Sokka’s body language and leaning forward as well. “The first time I ever saw you was our freshman year. I was at one of your games with someone else, but every time they showed your face on that screen, I forgot they were even there. Think I’ve kinda had a thing for you ever since.”

Sokka pondered for a moment. 

“You know the first time I saw you was at one of Aang’s tournaments. You were competing, too. I remember how I couldn’t look away as you fought. Your strength, your grace, your balance. They were all impeccable. I originally thought I was just appreciating your craft, one athlete to another,” Sokka chuckled. “I had my great bi-scovery a few months later and the next time I went to one of Aang’s tournaments and I saw you fight again I was just like ‘oh no, that was not appreciation that was full-on attraction’ and well...drunk me definitely let you know that the night of the faithful party.”

Zuko laughed at how ridiculous it all was. Their mutual attraction way before they even knew who the other was. Maybe, just maybe, they were meant to find each other. Zuko wanted to say as much, but he thought he should keep the rest of the evening light. 

“Well then, cheers to shitty jungle juice and awful frat parties for bringing us together,” Zuko said holding up his - mostly empty - wine glass. 

Sokka followed suit, clinking their glasses together with a soft laugh. 

The rest of the date went by with much lighter topics of conversation, and with the weight of his darkest secrets already off his shoulders and a glass of wine in his system, Zuko felt himself opening up like a flower. He and Sokka were definitely those assholes that stayed at their table a little too long on a busy Saturday night to talk and Sokka eventually suggested they pay and take a walk around campus instead. 

Zuko offered to split the bill but Sokka took the check when the waitress came back, putting his card in the booklet and handing it back before Zuko could even reach for his wallet.

“You can pay next time,” Sokka offered with an easy grin. And,  _ oh. _ Next time. “Shall we?”

They left the restaurant hand in hand the promise of  _ next time _ making Zuko feel floaty. From there, the pair took the long way back, strolling aimlessly through the campus and continuing their earlier conversation. They eventually circled back to stop at the fountain they’d met at earlier and, checking the time, Zuko realized it was already nearly half-past ten. 

“I should probably go,” Zuko said, though it was the complete opposite of what he wanted to do. “The girls are waiting up for me and if I’m not home soon, I’m afraid they’ll come looking for me themselves and crash our date.”

Sokka laughed softly, “you want me to walk you home?”

Zuko shook his head.

“I think I’ve got it from here, but thank you,” he said, sincerely. “Besides, I just know they’ll be watching from the window or something equally intrusive and I’d really like to kiss you before the night is over without the prying eyes of our friends.”

He watched as Sokka’s demeanor changed at Zuko’s admission, his smile going from soft and boyish to straight-up wolfish. It was doing  _ things _ to Zuko. 

“Oh, yeah?” Sokka said, voice deepening as he took a deliberate step into Zuko’s personal space, so close now Zuko could feel his body heat. One of Sokka’s hands came to brush ever so slightly at Zuko’s waist.

“Yeah,” Zuko rasped. They were nearly nose to nose. Zuko had to look up ever so slightly to meet Sokka’s eyes. Sokka’s gaze searched his, and it felt like literal electricity was bouncing between them until finally, finally, Sokka closed the gap.

For all his posturing, the kiss was chaste at first, almost tender. The hand at Zuko’s waist took a firmer hold as Sokka’s other hand came up to delicately cup Zuko’s jaw.

Unable to hold himself back any longer, Zuko wound his arms around Sokka’s neck, closing the infinitesimal space in between them, and deepening the kiss.

Sokka gasped in pleased surprise, and Zuko took the opportunity to briefly slip his tongue into the other man’s mouth, which seemed to be the final straw in Sokka’s composure. The hand at his waist now had Zuko’s shirt in a tight grip and the other at his jaw slipped back to twine into Zuko’s hair. It took them a minute to get their rhythm right but once they did,  _ goddamn _ were the two of them good at kissing each other. Zuko couldn’t resist sliding one of his hands down to trace at the bare patch of chest that had been tantalizing him all damn night as Sokka continued to kiss him like a dying man. Their bodies were flush, so close he swore he could feel the rabbiting of Sokka’s heart where their chests were pressed together.

Zuko had no idea how long they kissed for - it could’ve been hours - but they each eventually pulled back, albeit reluctantly. They panted into each other's mouths for a moment before separating enough that they could make eye contact. They each let out identical, breathless laughs and Zuko smugly noted that Sokka had a blush splotched across his cheekbones and that his lips were swollen and spit slick from their kissing. 

“So that happened,” Sokka said, looking as disbelieving as Zuko felt. Zuko just chuckled. “Fuck. I should probably go before I give in to the urge to throw you over my shoulder caveman-style and take you back to mine so you can kiss me like that all night long.”

“And I should probably go because I’d let you,” Zuko admitted. 

Sokka closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. “You’re not making it any easier.”

“I know,” Zuko said, coyly.

“What am I gonna do with you,” Sokka shook his head fondly.

“Go on another date with me?” Zuko asked.

“Absolutely,” Sokka answered immediately. “You could ask for anything you wanted after a kiss like that and I’d probably give it to you.”

“Just another date will do.”

Sokka just gave him a look that made Zuko feel weirdly gooey on the inside before he took Zuko’s face in both of his huge hands and gave him one last gentle peck on the lips, then forehead before taking a few steps back. 

“I’ll text you,” Sokka promised, and Zuko knew he meant it. 

“I’ll text you back,” Zuko replied and Sokka just laughed and shook his head at Zuko one last time before turning around and walking away, a bounce in his step. 

Zuko watched him go, heart still hammering away in his chest and his emotions on cloud nine. He knew it was way too soon in the game to even be thinking about  _ those things _ , but after just one night, one date with Sokka, Zuko could see just how easy it would be to fall for him. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (i'm the literal patron saint of oversharing on first dates)  
>  one of my very best friends in college was an aerospace engineer who is quite possibly the smartest human i know...but also literally wore basketball shorts to campus in the middle of snowstorm. the duality of man.
> 
> next time: a slice of life, another party, and boys talking about their feelingsTM  
> as always...i love hearing from you guys & i LOVE your comments.  
>   
> andddddd come say hi on [tumblr!](https://khaleeseas.tumblr.com/)


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you a million and one times for all your comments...you guys are really some of the best readers ❤️
> 
> \- 
> 
> there's a scene where things get a little spicy but nothing graphic enough for the rating to go up...that'll be the next update. :-)
> 
> (this is also the longest of all the chapters thus far. lots of talking, lots of feelings.)

For their second date, Sokka picked Zuko up in his blue, four-door Jeep and they drove to the Drive-In theater on the other side of the city to watch Grease - Zuko’s idea. He’d admitted to Sokka that Grease had been one of his favorite movies since he was a kid, and Sokka had agreed excitedly to go.

They held hands across the center console and Zuko hummed along to every song, bopping his head to the rhythm. He felt Sokka’s gaze on him here and there and when he finally looked over to meet the other man’s eyes, Sokka was giving him a knowing smirk. 

“You were totally a theater kid in high school, weren’t you?”

“...maybe,” Zuko admitted.

“ _Tui and Lau_ , I should’ve known. It all makes so much sense!” Sokka paused for a minute before giving Zuko a wicked grin. “Were you in Grease? Did you play Danny Zuko in Grease?”

“No! Sokka you are absolutely ridiculous,” Zuko laughed. “Yes, we did Grease, but I did mostly behind the scenes stuff and directing. As much as I love theater...I don’t necessarily love having the spotlight.” 

Sokka stroked his thumb over the back of Zuko’s hand and gave him a fond smile, “hmmm. I can see that.”

“I uh...was also in my school's opera club in elementary school. We’d dress up and take a bus to the opera and we’d get to watch the dress rehearsal. My favorite was Madame Butterfly. Absolutely depressing opera, honestly, I don’t know why they let a bunch of kids watch that, but it was still beautiful.”

Sokka was speechless for a moment, looking at Zuko in a way that Zuko couldn’t quite decipher, but that made him breathless all the same. 

“What?” he asked quietly.

“I dunno,” Sokka admitted. “You just amaze me sometimes. I love learning all these little things about you.”

“Sap,” Zuko said with a smile.

“Nerd,” Sokka teased fondly. 

“Jock,” Zuko shot back. 

“Okay, hey now. I may be a jock, but I _am_ a nerd as well. I’m the perfect example of the duality of man,” Sokka said with mock dramatics. “I am the epitome of ‘get you a man that can do both.’”

“Hm. Guess I really did get me a man that can do both,” Zuko said simply, then turned back to watching the movie before he said anything else too revealing. He felt the heat of Sokka’s gaze on him for a while before the other man settled back in beside him and they finished the movie in comfortable silence.

Zuko’s only complaint about the whole night was that the dumb center console in Sokka’s Jeep really got in the way of the makeout session they had just before Sokka dropped him off for the night.

* * *

The semester picked up quickly from there. Between having a demanding major, being an athlete, and being part of a fairly active service fraternity, Sokka was a busy man. Zuko was too, of course, and he’d recently scored a position working with one of Republic City’s local delegates on her re-election campaign, so some weeks it was harder than others to find time for each other. The fact that Sokka was often away a night or two out of the week never helped, either. Zuko knew it was stupid, but he missed Sokka, even more, when he knew he wasn’t within a five-mile radius of him. 

As a result, their official “dates” became a little more casual and were fewer and further in between, but with all of that being said, he and Sokka still found time - no matter how fleeting - for each other during the week. 

Whether it was meeting up for an hour for lunch while on campus, studying together in the library, or taking breaks from school at the Jasmine Dragon (always when Uncle wasn’t working…Zuko still wasn’t ready to introduce them  _ quite  _ yet), they still saw each other at least once a week, if not more. 

Sometimes their friends joined them, sometimes they didn’t. It still was a pleasant surprise to Zuko how much all of their mutual friends got along. Katara was definitely warming up to him and he and Aang had actually become friends of their own volition, not that it was hard to resist Aang’s easy friendship. Hell, even Mai liked Aang. Toph and Azula together actually scared Zuko a little bit though, if he was being honest. He didn’t even want to know the damage the two of them could cause if they truly tried. 

Things were good, things were great, and he didn’t want to push anything.

Still, the selfish part of Zuko wanted  _ more.  _

* * *

The first loss of the season was always the hardest. 

Sokka felt it even more now that he was captain. The only upside was that it was an away game, the first loss stung the most when it was on home turf. They’d go over the tape - like they always did, win or lose - at the next practice to try to pinpoint the things that went wrong, as well as what went right. 

The other team had outskated them and outperformed them at every turn. Sokka and his team were great but this team was even better. He knew they were slightly outmatched going in tonight, but that had never stopped them from winning before. 

Of course, as one of the team’s captains, it was hard not to shoulder the blame. It was a shitty feeling, knowing he’d let his team down. 

  
  


**Sokka:** we lost ://

**Zuko:** I know. I saw. I’m sorry :(

Sokka was in the middle of texting out a long, drawn-out reply about his guilt when an incoming call from Zuko interrupted him. Zuko had never actually called him before, but regardless, Sokka answered almost immediately. 

“Hey,” he whispered. “Give me a sec. Haru’s dead asleep. Let me find somewhere better we can talk.”

Sokka grabbed his sweatshirt and slipped quietly out of the hotel room he was sharing with Haru for the night. The rest of the team was spread out along the same floor, but as co-captains and friends, he and Haru almost always bunked together. 

He ended up on the mezzanine above the lobby in a squashy armchair. It was late, so there was barely anyone else in the hotel’s common area. 

“Alright we should be good,” Sokka said, finally, though he kept his voice low. 

“You doing okay?” Zuko asked quietly. 

“Yes. No. I honestly don’t know,” Sokka admitted. “First loss is always the hardest.”

“I can understand that. Especially after the streak you guys have had.”

“Exactly,” Sokka agreed. “I dunno. It’s just...we lost and I feel responsible.”

Zuko was quiet on the other end of the line before he asked, “are you the only player on your team?”

“Well. No, but I’m the captain and -”

“If you’d won, would you ever attribute a win solely to yourself?”

“Hell no!” Sokka exclaimed. “We're a team and everyone on the team adds to a win in one way or another.”

“So then if you’re not solely responsible for a win, how can you be solely responsible for a loss?” Zuko said, tone triumphant. He was right, and they both knew it. “By your own logic, if it takes everyone to win, it takes everyone to lose. You did your best out there and you played hard. That’s all you can do, and that’s all that matters.”

Sokka soaked in Zuko’s supportive, grounding words for a moment before whispering “thanks, Zuko. I really needed that.”

* * *

He and Sokka had been...dating?...talking?...seeing each other? for almost two months now and Zuko still didn’t quite know where they stood. He knew it was stupid because it was  _ Sokka _ , but he was still so scarred from Jet that he was afraid to ask. He was afraid to ruin what they had. He didn’t think Sokka was seeing, or even interested in, anyone else other than Zuko, but one could never be so sure. Zuko sure as hell wasn’t even thinking about anyone other than Sokka right now, but he didn’t want to come off as too desperate or too clingy. 

There was a night where he almost brought it up.

Sokka had just gotten back mid-evening from an away game in a neighboring city, and since they hadn’t seen each other all week he came straight over to Zuko’s for takeout and Netflix. It wasn’t the first time they’d done something like this, but Mai wasn’t home that night and Sokka looked so _ good  _ \- hair down, body loose-limbed and relaxed - it made Zuko want to devour him. 

They’d long finished dinner and Sokka was laughing at something ridiculous that Schmidt from New Girl had said. It was getting late and Sokka looked over at Zuko with this sleepy, dopey look that made Zuko’s heart ache. 

To say Zuko lunged to close the space between them was perhaps an exaggeration, but Sokka did make a noise of surprise into Zuko’s mouth at the suddenness of the kiss, which quickly morphed into a pleased hum. Sokka immediately took control of the kiss, one of his large hands coming behind Zuko’s neck while the other slipped behind Zuko’s waist to pull him closer. 

Before Zuko knew it, he was flat on his back on the couch with over six feet of muscled hockey player nestled between his legs and kissing down his throat. 

Zuko buried his hands in Sokka’s hair - because he could,  _ dammit _ \- and pulled, which caused Sokka to moan a little into his neck. 

“I love when your hair is down,” Zuko admitted as Sokka made his way back up Zuko’s neck and across his jaw. 

“I know you do,” Sokka murmured, and Zuko could feel his smug smile against his skin, before effectively ending any smartass retort Zuko had coming by kissing him quiet. 

He and Sokka had kissed - had even gotten a little hot and heavy - plenty of times before but  _ Spirits _ , it had never felt like  _ this. _ It took a moment for Zuko to realize he was subconsciously arching up into Sokka, his body aching to be as close to Sokka’s as possible. Zuko just wanted to touch everything and everywhere, all of the pent up sexual frustration he had for Sokka fighting to break free from where Zuko had kept it so closely controlled.

Things escalated quickly, and it was mostly Zuko’s fault. His hands wandered down the planes of Sokka’s strong back to trace over the curve of his ass and without truly thinking it through, and going off of his caveman brain alone, Zuko took a grasp of each firm cheek and squeezed. 

The noise Sokka made into his mouth was outright pornographic and his hips stuttered down to meet Zuko’s. It was obvious that they were both very turned on by their current situation and even though Zuko’s body was clearly very into what was currently happening, he knew this was something he wasn’t quite ready for. 

“Sokka wait,” he gasped, and to the other man’s credit Sokka backed off immediately, moving his entire body off of Zuko’s and settling back onto his knees on the couch. 

“Fuck, sorry,” Sokka panted, chest heaving. And fuck he looked so beautiful above Zuko like that. Zuko had to fight the urge to pull him down and keep going. “Did I go too far? I didn’t mean to push you into anything.”

“No, no, no, it’s fine Sokka, I promise,” and it was true, Zuko needed him to know that. “I’m just...not ready.”

Sokka visibly relaxed, moving back to hover over Zuko - careful to keep some space between them - and kissed his forehead. 

“At your pace, okay?” Sokka said. “You let me know.”

Zuko nodded and pulled him down for one last chaste kiss that he hoped conveyed his “thank you” and they went back to cuddling on the couch. It wasn’t like Zuko needed the label to enjoy sex with someone, but he was being careful with his heart this go-around. It took everything in him to hold back that cliché question of “ _ what are we? _ ” So instead, Zuko buried his questions and his feelings and they sat watching New Girl in peaceful silence until Sokka nearly fell asleep on Zuko’s couch and they both agreed it was probably time for him to go home for the night.

Still, no sooner was Sokka out the door - giving Zuko a sweet kiss that was in complete juxtaposition to the kisses they’d shared earlier - that Zuko all but threw himself into his room with a hand down his pajama pants, replaying every single moment of Sokka’s weight on top of his on the couch.

* * *

It had been another home win for the hockey team, and Zuko was waiting for Sokka, like he did after every home game he was able to attend, with Aang and Katara. He soon had an armful of a sweaty - “You didn’t shower after?!” - excited Sokka who was nearly vibrating out of his skin with the high from the win. The three of them chatted for a while before Sokka checked his phone and cleared his throat. 

“Soooo, Longshot’s hosting a victory kegger at his place. I’m gonna text the rest of the gang and extend the invite. You all in?” Sokka asked. 

Aang shook his head, “I’m DDing starting at eleven for the frat, remember?”

“Ah, yeah. I’ll definitely be calling you later, then,” Sokka grinned. “Katara?” 

Katara shrugged, whipping out her phone.

“I’ll text the girls. If they’re in, so am I,” she linked arms with Aang. “I have a feeling they’ll be down, so I’m gonna go home and start getting ready. I’ll let you know for sure in a bit.”

They said their goodbyes to the couple and Sokka finally turned to Zuko.

“I know parties aren’t your thing, so I totally won’t be offended if you’d rather stay home,” Sokka said, and Zuko could tell he meant it. 

“I’d be willing to go to a party for you,” and  _ fuck _ Zuko had meant “with you,” but Sokka looked pleased by Zuko’s answer.

“Really? Awesome! I can’t wait for the guys to meet you,” Sokka said, excitedly.

It was endearing and yet also mildly terrifying. Zuko was self-aware of his potential for social awkwardness. He knew meeting new people didn’t always go smoothly.

“I think I wanna change first,” Zuko said. He was wearing jeans and a tee that Sokka had given him with the team logo, a white polar bear dog, on it. He looked fine, but it wasn’t necessarily a party outfit.

“Yeah! Of course! I was going to walk from my apartment cause it’s right down the road. I still need to shower and stuff, so do you want me to meet up later, or do you want me to drive by your place so you can grab some stuff and you can come to get ready at my place?”

Getting ready for a party together felt very  _ boyfriend-y _ to Zuko, which reminded him of a rather important conversation he was trying to build up the courage to have. But he still wasn’t going to say no to any time spent with Sokka so he chose the latter which made Sokka absolutely  _ beam _ . 

Sokka drove them to Zuko’s, then waited in the Jeep downstairs as Zuko went up to his apartment. 

“Where are you off to in a hurry?” Ty Lee asked from where she and Mai were cuddled up on the couch.

“Party with Sokka said to invite you guys if you want to join,” Zuko called as he made his way to his room. He didn’t wait to see the surprised reactions from his friends at the fact that he was willingly going to a party.

His jeans should be fine. They were becoming his favorite, as Sokka loved to idly play with the identical rips at the knees anytime Zuko wore them, always delicately stroking the skin beneath. He switched the hockey tee for a simple black tee that was old and now a size slightly too small so it fit Zuko nice and snug, all while showing off his dragon half-sleeve. He also traded his red converse for his old pair of Docs, no sense of ruining a pair of his favorite shoes with spilled beer or Spirits knew what else. College parties could be dangerous like that. 

Barely ten minutes later, he was ready to head back out. 

“Text us the deets!” Ty Lee said as he passed back through the living room. “Suki’s texting me about the party too and it sounds like it’s gonna be a blast.”

Zuko just shot her a thumbs up, both eager to get back to Sokka and not wanting to hold him up. When he got back in the Jeep, Sokka gave him an appreciative once-over before taking Zuko’s hand and giving the back of it a kiss. 

“Like I said, I know parties aren’t your ideal way to spend your night, but I really do appreciate you coming with me. It’ll be so much more fun having you there.”

And damn did this boy know how to make Zuko melt. 

Sokka’s apartment was quiet and dark when they got there, so Zuko assumed Aang was already gone for the night. He followed Sokka through the hallway and into Sokka’s room and Zuko realized it was the first time he’d ever been in Sokka's actual bedroom. Sokka told him to make himself comfortable and promised he’d be quick, leaving Zuko alone in his room. 

Zuko took a hesitant seat at the edge of the bed, and part of his mind wandered, playing out fantasies of being in Sokka’s bed for a multitude of  _ different  _ reasons. So, in order to distract himself, he took in Sokka’s room curiously while trying not to outright snoop. 

It was easy to learn a lot about another person from their room. Sokka’s room was cluttered, but not messy. His bed was made and there were a couple of books on the bedside table that weren’t textbooks. He also had pictures scattered around the room, one of him, Aang, and Katara, the one with his dads from his Instagram, and another of what looked like a very young Sokka with a woman who could only be his mother. 

So. Sokka was sentimental, and he obviously loved his family very much. 

It had barely been ten minutes of Zuko waiting when Sokka came back through the door, with only a towel slung low on his hips. Zuko’s mouth went dry. He’d never actually seen Sokka shirtless before, but the reality of it - right in front of his face - was far better than anything Zuko could’ve ever imagined. 

Sokka had an athlete’s body through and through, a toned stomach and broad shoulders that was offset by a tapered waist. He had a water tribe symbol tattooed over his left pec, above his heart, and it took all of Zuko’s self-control not to reach out and trace it. 

Still, he couldn’t quite stop himself from pulling Sokka in, urging him down for a longing kiss. The thirsty side of Zuko’s mind thought “fuck it, let’s skip the party and  _ bang this beautiful man _ ” but his rational side won out and he pulled away. He didn’t miss the way Sokka chased his lips though. 

“I’m gonna go to the bathroom before we head out,” he said, standing. “I’ll let you change.” 

Zuko shut himself in the bathroom and took a deep breath. He supposed that conversation he’d been putting off should probably happen tonight.

* * *

So, Zuko would have to admit. Parties were maybe a little better with Sokka by his side. And he supposed too that now that he had more than two friends and sister to talk to at a party, it made it that much better, too. 

Sokka spent the majority of the start of the night sticking close to Zuko out of his own volition. Making him drinks, introducing him to his hockey friends, and always making sure Zuko was included in the conversation. It was sweet of him. Really. Truly. But Zuko didn’t want Sokka to feel like he had to babysit Zuko just because Zuko was socially awkward and not really a partier. So about an hour in, Zuko turned to Sokka while they were talking with a group of guys, leaning in to speak in his ear so the other man could hear him over the noise of the party.

“Ty Lee texted me to say she and Mai got here like fifteen minutes ago, I’m gonna go find them,” Zuko said. 

“I’ll come with you!” Sokka offered. 

“No, no it’s okay!” Zuko said back. “I don’t want to pull you away from your teammates! I’ll circle back and find you later, alright?”

Sokka gave him an indecipherable look like he wanted to say something, before plastering on a smile

“Yeah, of course. Tell them I say ‘hi’ or better yet bring them with you when you find me again. It’s been a while since I’ve seen them,” Sokka said.

Zuko softened at that and kissed Sokka on the cheek. “Of course! I’ll see you later.”

* * *

“Sokka,” came a voice behind him. 

Sokka turned to see Mai, sans Ty Lee, with a furrow in her typically impassive brow.

“Mai, hey! Zuko told me he’d bring you guys to come say hi. Where is he?”

“I think you should come with me,” She explained, and immediately Sokka’s heart was in his throat.

“Did something happen? Is everything okay? Where is he?” Sokka immediately interrogated.

“Down boy. He’s fine. Just...uh. Toph got to him. Talked him into taking a couple of shots. He’s not wasted or anything, but he’s definitely drunker than I’ve ever really seen him before.”

“Spirits, Toph,” Sokka growled. “That girl is a bad influence. Is he okay?”

“He’ll be fine,” Mai said. “He really didn’t drink all that much, he’s just a horrible lightweight. Ty Lee and Suki are forcing water into him and Katara all but dragged Toph away from him. So he’s fine now.”

Sokka breathed a sigh of relief. 

“He is, however, sitting on some gross couch refusing to do anything or go anywhere until we bring you to him,” Mai said with a knowing look in her eyes.

“Is that so?” Sokka attempted to fake nonchalance. 

“Mhmm,” Mai hummed. “Said he has a  _ very important _ conversation he needs to have with you.”

Sokka’s stomach tightened at the possibility of what  _ that  _ could mean. 

“Well then, I guess we should go find him.”

* * *

Zuko was definitely at least a _ little _ drunk. He was slumped on Longshot’s questionable couch, body lax and smiling hazily in a way Sokka had never seen before. His hair had been tied up into a cute bun, with little strands not long enough to be pulled back framing his face. Suki was attempting to coax water into him as Ty Lee looked on, clearly amused. 

“Sokka!” Zuko shouted excitedly as soon as he caught sight of him. 

“Oh thank the Spirits,” Suki muttered, standing up from the couch and handing over the water bottle. “He’s all yours, loverboy. If I have to listen to him wax poetic about you for one more minute I’m gonna get cavities.”

Suki paused for a second, then pulled Sokka aside, much to Zuko’s verbal displeasure. 

“But really though, I think you guys are good together. And he’s really grown on me outside of being the guy you’re dating. But with that being said, maybe you should have that  _ talk  _ with him that we spoke about.”

Sokka raised his eyebrows, “you mean - ”

“Yes, dumbass,” Suki rolled her eyes. “Define the relationship. Make it official. Ask the poor guy to be your damn boyfriend already. I mean he basically is, so what’s the hold up?”

“I wanted it to be romantic!” Sokka protested. “You know this, I had a whole thing planned.”

Suki just gave him a look. 

“Fine. I’ll do it tomorrow, at breakfast.  _ After _ I get him home and let him sleep off the alcohol.”

Suki held her hands up in mock surrender at that and turned back to the couch.

“Alright, handsome. I’m calling Aang to DD us and we’re taking your drunk ass home,” Sokka said and Zuko just grinned and shrugged, making grabby hands at Sokka to help pull him off the couch. Zuko wasn’t small by any means and was nearly the same height as Sokka, but Sokka still had quite a few pounds of bulk on him, so it was an easy feat. Zuko came to his feet easily, but stumbled a little bit, catching himself by clinging on to Sokka. 

“”I forget how strong you are sometimes,” Zuko murmured appreciatively into Sokka’s shoulder. “But also I’m not that drunk, I  _ swear. _ I’m just a lightweight. Give me some more water and some food and I’ll be fine. You’re all so dramatic. But I still do want to go home.”

“Aang will be here soon, actually,” he heard his sister’s voice behind him. “I already called. He’s on his way.”

“Thanks, Katara,” Sokka said. “We should probably make our way outside now so he doesn’t have to wait for us when he gets here.” 

Katara agreed, and they turned to make their way back through the party when he felt Mai grab his arm. 

“Zuko, follow Katara, I’ll be right behind you, okay?” Sokka said. Zuko looked like he was going to protest, but a single glance from Mai had him following Katara without another word. 

“I’ll get him home safe,” Sokka promised Mai.

She leveled him with a look that cut like knives, “I will eviscerate you if you hurt him. He’s a sweet boy and he’s been taken advantage of and hurt so many times before. Don’t be another person who hurts him.”

“Mai…” Sokka started, hoping to get his message across as genuinely and clearly as possible. “First of all, if you’re afraid I’m going to try something while he’s drunk, I would have hoped you’d know me better by now to know that consent is important to me and I would  _ never  _ do that. Second, I am crazy about that man. I would never do anything intentionally to hurt him. I like him way too much for that.”

She seemed to size him up for a minute, before deflating. 

“I know. And you’re right, I’m sorry,” she shook her head. “I’m just very protective of him, I’m sure you can understand. But if anyone’s worthy of him, it’s you.”

“I’ll take care of him,” Sokka promised. And they both knew he meant more than just that night.

“I know you will.” 

By the time Sokka made it outside, Aang was just pulling up in his silver Prius. Sokka ushered Zuko into the backseat, following him in. 

Katara hopped into the front seat and immediately leaned across the console to kiss Aang with a murmured “hi, sweetie.”

“Ugh,  _ oogies _ you two,” Sokka muttered, and Katara just gave him a pointed look to where Zuko was pretty much plastered up against Sokka’s side, head happily tucked into his shoulder. 

“Touché,” Sokka replied. “Uh, Aang. You mind driving through McDonald's before we take the drunkie here home? I think he could use some food in his system before he goes to sleep tonight.”

Aang agrees, even though he’s a vegan and personally won’t touch the stuff, and he and Zuko share a ten-piece nugget while Katara happily munches on a cheeseburger in the front. 

Sokka alternates between practically feeding Zuko the nuggets, getting him to drink more water, and playing with the hole in Zuko’s jeans over the knee closest to him. 

Zuko grinned up at him and he was just so beautiful and Sokka liked him  _ so damn much _ it was kind of overwhelming and even a little frightening sometimes. He wasn’t always good at being vulnerable and he hid his feelings behind a mask of charm and sarcasm, but Zuko let him take that mask off and just...be. He’d known from the start that Zuko was someone he could fall in love with so easily, and if he were being honest with himself, he was already pretty far down that path. He knew deep down, that the two of them could be something amazing, but even something amazing could hurt like absolute hell if it ended. 

But he was done denying himself, and he was done hiding behind a mask.

* * *

Aang pulled up to Zuko’s apartment and Sokka ushered the other man out of the backseat. He told Aang he was just going to make sure Zuko got upstairs okay and leave out water for him and he’d be right back. Zuko handed over his keys as they climbed the stairs to his unit and Sokka unlocked the door for him. Zuko lingered while Sokka grabbed him a bottle of water from the fridge, then led Sokka down the hall to his bedroom. 

“No funny business,” Zuko says playfully as he opened his door. “Not that I don’t totally wanna bone you cause I do, I mean  _ look at you _ , but I want to be sober for it.”

And...oh.

That was another conversation they needed to have. The other night on Zuko’s couch, Zuko had pulled away and closed off the second things started getting sexual. Sokka wasn’t sure if it was because he truly wasn’t ready, or didn’t want to, or was ace or what, but it was something he’d been meaning to talk with Zuko about. It didn’t matter to Sokka either way, he just wanted to know where to draw the line so as to not make him uncomfortable again in the future.

“As flattering as that is, buddy, I’m not taking advantage of you like that when you’ve been drinking. Even if you are way more sober now than you were even twenty minutes ago thanks to those chicken nuggets.”

Zuko turned around and there was this look in his eyes that nearly shattered Sokka’s heart, “ I know you wouldn’t.”

“Anyway...I just wanted to make sure you got home safely. I should go,” Sokka said. “But if you’re feeling up to it in the morning, we should get breakfast. Just the two of us.”

He turned to leave, but Zuko reached for his wrist, circling it delicately. 

“Or you could stay,” Zuko asked of him softly. “I want you to stay. Just to sleep. It isn’t the alcohol talking, I swear. I just want you here when I wake up.”

And how the hell was Sokka supposed to say no to that?

He fired off a quick text to Aang, letting him know to leave without him. Aang’s only reply was:

**Aang:** Ok :) be a good boy and don’t hurt him!

**Aang:** And btw Katara says she’s happy for you

Sokka rolled his eyes at his phone. How many people were gonna give him the shovel talk in Zuko’s honor tonight?

“What?” Zuko asked curiously. 

“Everyone thinks I’m gonna hurt you,” Sokka shook his head. 

“I don’t think you will,” Zuko said, seriously. “Sometimes I don’t understand why you like me and I’m afraid you’ll realize how cool and out of my league you are. But you’re a good guy. I don’t think you’d hurt me. Not on purpose.”

“I’m out of  _ your _ \- Zuko, are you insane? You’re beautiful and smart and we are so equally in each others’ leagues. If anything, I’m the lucky one here.” 

Zuko pulled him in for a kiss that should be something heated and fierce but ended up being tender instead. They rested their foreheads together for a moment before Zuko finally pulled back. 

“I feel like I smell like tequila,” he said, nose wrinkled. 

“You do,” Sokka agreed. “But I was trying to be polite and ignore it.”

Zuko swatted at him playfully before going to his dresser and rummaging through it. He threw Sokka a shirt and pulled out another shirt and a pair of sweatshorts for himself. 

“I don’t think I have any bottoms that will fit over your ass,” Zuko said, seriously. 

“It’s fine. I’ll sleep in my briefs,” Sokka laughed. 

“Make yourself comfy,” Zuko said. “I’m gonna take a quick shower.”

Sokka felt almost intrusive being in Zuko’s room without him there and he nearly laughed at the exact parallel to their situation earlier, before the party. Spirits, what a long night it’d been. 

Just by the look of his side tables, one more used than the other, Sokka could tell that Zuko slept on the right side of the bed, so he settled into the left instead.

Zuko’s room was fairly spartan save for the innumerable amount of books organized throughout the room. Sokka wanted to know every single one and why Zuko chose them. He wanted to know which were his favorites and why, and which characters in them he connected to the most. He wanted to know which books were the ones he read over and over again, no many how many times he’d read them before.

Zuko came back not too long after he left, hair wet and out of its cute little bun and immediately slipped into bed next to Sokka like it was something they did every night. They laid on their sides, facing each other, and Zuko leaned in to give Sokka a kiss.

“I feel like I didn’t get to kiss you as much tonight as I originally planned,” Zuko huffed. “Sorry if I got all weird there for a bit.”

“Wanna tell me about it?” Sokka said. “I thought maybe I did something wrong, y’know?” 

“I was just trying not to be too overbearing or come off clingy or whatever. I just assumed you wanted space and some time with your friends,” Zuko said quietly, not meeting Sokka’s eyes. 

“I wanted to spend time with  _ you _ ,” Sokka said.

“Oh. I’m sorry, I just didn’t want to impose. I mean I know I’m not technically even your boyfriend so - ”

“I want you to be,” Sokka said quickly, Plan B for Asking Zuko to Be His Boyfriend officially out the window. “If you want to of course."

Zuko met his gaze and blinked.

“You what?”

“I want you to be my boyfriend,” Sokka repeated. 

Zuko’s face flurried between a range of expressions before he laughed shakily.

“I’ve been agonizing over how to ask you that for  _ weeks, _ Sokka,” Zuko said with a slight giggle that let Sokka know the alcohol wasn’t completely out of his system. “That’s all it took, huh? It really is that simple.”

“Well, yes,” Sokka agreed. “But you haven’t exactly given me an answer yet, so…”

“Yes!” Zuko blurted. “Spirits, Sokka, yes, of course!”

He sealed this with another round of kisses, but Sokka couldn’t help but chuckle a little into them.

“What?” Zuko asked, pulling back with a dopey grin.

“Nothing, we’re just both really dumb, huh?” Sokka said, matching Zuko’s smile. 

“Guess we are meant for each other then.”

“Yeah,” Sokka murmured, stroking a thumb across Zuko’s scarred cheekbone. “I really think we are.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (i was in my elementary school's opera club and i chose madame butterfly bc 1. that traumatized me as a child and 2. its set in japan which seems fitting!)  
> also side note I really do believe in jet redemption and don't hate him at all...sorry I'm using u as a plot device my mouth wheat king 😅😅😅  
> the next chapter will earn the story its rating - just as an fyi


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> rating change....that's all imma say ;)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this was definitely the longest time between updates and i apologize for that! but in recompense...here's some smut (and fluff).

Zuko woke with a full bladder, a dry mouth, and a hot, heavy weight at his back. He really wasn’t hungover - like he’d _said_ he didn't have that much to drink the night before, he was just a lightweight - but he definitely needed to pee and brush his teeth _stat_. Still, part of him wanted nothing more than to just lie there with his now-shirtless (Sokka had warned him he was a hot sleeper) boyfriend’s arm around him and soak in the morning...but nature was definitely calling. 

He slipped out from under Sokka, doing his best not to wake his _boyfriend_ because that’s a thing that happened last night. He made his way to the bathroom as quickly and quietly as possible, eager to get back to the beautiful man warming his bed. He relieved himself then brushed the taste of alcohol from his mouth before skimming a hand through his bedhead. He fully expected Sokka to still be snoozing away when he snuck back into his room but was surprised to find the man had rolled to his back and was half awake and blinking the sleep out of his eyes with a dopey smile aimed at Zuko. A patch of sunlight that had snuck through the space in his curtains fell across Sokka’s bare stomach and one of Sokka’s arms was curled behind his head emphasizing his bicep and tattoo. Zuko, who paused in the doorway, was struck breathless for two reasons. 

The first was a feeling he’d felt coming for a long time now, one that he wasn’t quite ready to address. The second was due to the fact that Sokka, his hot boyfriend, was lounging half-naked in his bed, rumpled and sleep soft and Zuko was done denying himself of the things he wanted.

“Mornin’, baby,” Sokka murmured, and oh Spirits did his sleep-gruff voice go right to Zuko’s dick.

“‘Baby?’” Zuko questioned though his cheeks were burning at the pet name and they both knew it. 

“Would you prefer honey? Sweetheart? _Sugar_?” Sokka teased.

“ _Ech_ , you sound like my grandmother,” Zuko complained as he made his way into the room and stopped at the edge of his bed. 

“Exactly. So, 'baby' it is. With the occasional ‘babe’ thrown in to spice things up.”

“I mean I guess if you insist,” Zuko said, but the prospect of Sokka calling him all of those things gave him butterflies all the same. 

Zuko crawled up the bed, over Sokka’s body, pulling back the covers as he went. Sokka’s breath hitched as Zuko settled himself to straddle his lap, sitting up with his hands braced on Sokka’s chest as his boyfriend’s hands came up to rest on his hips. 

“Hi,” Zuko murmured. 

“Hi,” Sokka replied, hands squeezing Zuko’s sides. He was so beautiful. His dark brown hair was loose and splayed across the pillow and in this lighting, Zuko could see the smattering of freckles that covered Sokka’s nose. He was gazing up so fondly at Zuko with the dreamiest look in his blue eyes, lips parted, patiently waiting for Zuko to make the first move. 

So he did. 

He leaned down, lips brushing Sokka’s as he kissed him, slow and unhurried. It felt right to start things this way in the easy, golden light of morning. They had nowhere to be. They had time. Sokka seemed content to go at Zuko’s pace, but his fingers gently traced the bare skin just above Zuko’s sleep shorts and every brush left a trail of goosebumps. 

Zuko felt his hips start to roll down on their own accord, a slow undulation at first, but when he ground down deep enough to brush against Sokka’s morning wood, it was like flipping a switch for both of them.

Sokka moaned into his mouth at the contact, both in surprise and pleasure, so Zuko took the opportunity to deepen the kiss, slipping a little bit of tongue into Sokka’s mouth. Sokka’s hands at his hips went from gentle pressure to gripping and controlling Zuko’s movements, encouraging him to grind deeper and faster.

This went on for some time before Sokka’s hands left Zuko’s hips briefly and only to nudge Zuko’s shirt up. Zuko got the point, removing the rest of the shirt and throwing it away from the bed.

“I thought it was a little unfair that I was the only one shirtless,” Sokka said playfully, and when his hands resumed their earlier position, they continued instead to slide back to grab Zuko’s ass and squeeze. “Spirits, I love this tight little ass of yours.”

Zuko moaned in surprise, he should’ve known that someone who loved to talk as much as Sokka did would have such a filthy mouth. The dirty talk only egged him on though, movements growing more desperate and kisses growing fiercer. 

“Mmm, yeah, that’s it, baby,” Sokka encouraged, hands continuing to knead at Zuko’s ass while continuing to guide his movements. And okay, Zuko would admit, the ‘baby’ was growing on him. 

After some time, Zuko couldn’t take it anymore and knew he wanted to move things along further, so he reached a hand in between them, tugging at the edge of Sokka’s briefs.

“Wait, wait, Zuko wait,” Sokka said, abruptly. 

Zuko stopped immediately but also began to panic. Did he do something wrong? Was Sokka not enjoying himself?

Sokka must’ve sensed Zuko’s hurt confusion because he immediately launched into an explanation.

“It’s so good, this is so good,” Sokka reassured. “But I want to make sure it’s what you want. The last time we did something like this it made you uncomfortable. I don’t want to cross any boundaries and I don’t want you to feel like you’re obligated to do these kinds of things with me just because we’re boyfriends now.”

“Sokka,” Zuko breathed, half relieved, half incredulous. “I’ve wanted to do this - ” he emphasized the word with another roll of his hips. “ - since we’ve met. Maybe even a little before. I just wasn’t quite ready last time. But I am _so_ very ready now.”

Sokka pulled him back down into a kiss by a hand around his neck. 

“Okay, good,” Sokka said, also sounding relieved. “And you promise, no matter what, that you’ll stop things again if you feel like you need to?”

“I promise.”

“Good,” Sokka grinned up at him wickedly before lifting his hips and easily flipping and rolling Zuko under him. He fit himself easily between Zuko’s thighs, caging him in with his strong arms. “Because I have a whole _list_ of things I want to do to you.”

Zuko bit his lip to keep himself from letting loose an outright whimper, both at Sokka’s words and his manhandling. 

“A list, huh?” Zuko asked breathily as Sokka nipped at the hinge of his jaw.

“A long one,” Sokka murmured as he trailed wet kisses down Zuko’s throat. “I’d like to start working on it now.”

“And what, _ah_ \- ” Zuko gasped as Sokka bit gently at his clavicle while one of his hands came down to brush across Zuko’s nipple, “exactly were you thinking of starting with?”

Sokka propped himself up slightly so that he could look at Zuko’s face.

“Well I _have_ been dying to suck your dick,” Sokka said easily like he was commenting on the weather and not effectively saying something that short-circuited Zuko’s brain. Zuko’s silence must have worried Sokka as he hesitantly followed up with, “is that okay?” 

“Yeah, yes, that’s great. That’s more than okay,” Zuko breathed. 

“Good,” Sokka grinned and, Spirits, Sokka should not look that happy at the prospect of sucking Zuko’s dick.

Sokka moved his way down Zuko’s body, peppering kisses here and there. When he reached Zuko’s shorts he murmured “lift up for me?” and Zuko obeyed, lifting his hips off the bed. Sokka sat back on his heels, tossing the shorts in the same direction as Zuko’s shirt, then paused, taking a moment to rake his eyes up Zuko’s body. 

“So beautiful,” Sokka whispered as he settled between Zuko’s thighs. He took Zuko’s hard dick in his hand, giving it a few perfunctory strokes, “so _pretty_.” 

He looked up, making eye contact with Zuko as he gave the head of his cock a soft kiss. Zuko squirmed at the intensity of both Sokka’s gaze and the moment itself, but he couldn’t bring himself to break Sokka’s stare.

Sokka continued to hold his eyes as he slowly took the rest of Zuko’s length into his mouth. Unable to take it, Zuko finally closed his eyes, throwing his head back into the pillow with a moan. As Sokka started to bob his head, he brought one hand to Zuko’s dick as well, having it follow the trail of his mouth with slow, tight twists. Zuko wasn’t sure what to do with his hands, so he opted for twisting them in the sheets.

“Play with my hair,” Sokka demanded before returning back to the task at hand and Zuko could only acquiesce. He loosened his grip on the sheets and instead ran his hands through Sokka’s dark locks. He gripped Sokka’s hair as an anchor, not to force his head or even to guide - just to ground him, and Sokka moaned around Zuko’s dick which felt fucking _amazing_. The simple contact seemed to encourage Sokka and his movements became faster, all while his grip and suction tightened with each pass of Sokka’s mouth.

When Zuko dared to look down at Sokka again, it was to see that Sokka had pulled his briefs halfway down his thighs and was as hard as Zuko, stroking himself all while continuing to give Zuko the best head of his life. The man was nothing if not a good multi-tasker. Sokka looked up, catching Zuko watching him and proceeded to give Zuko a mischievous look, just before taking Zuko all the way to the base, burying his nose in the thatch of dark hair there. Sokka gagged a little, which weirdly felt incredible, then pulled back to suckle on Zuko’s head all before swallowing him whole once more. 

Zuko was going to explode - both literally and figuratively. 

“Sokka, _shit_ Sokka, I’m gonna come,” Zuko gasped.

Sokka popped off, grinned at Zuko, and said, “yeah, that’s kinda the whole point,” before returning to take Zuko all the way down again. 

“I want you to come, too,” Zuko said, tugging at Sokka’s hair to hopefully get his attention. 

It worked. Sokka pulled off once again the whispered, “fuck, yes. Okay, you got any lube?”

Zuko reached for his bedside drawer and rummaged through it before finding the bottle he knew very well. By the time he handed it over to Sokka triumphantly, Sokka had pulled his boxers the rest of the way down his legs and was completely naked as well. 

Sokka poured some of the lube out, warming it in his hands a bit before giving his own - still _very_ hard - dick a few strokes. He repeated the process with Zuko as well, then thrust their cocks together a few times before taking both of them in hand, stroking them tight and steady. 

“Fuck, your hands are huge,” Zuko said, watching Sokka work the two of them expertly together. 

“That’s not the only part of me that’s huge,” Sokka replied jauntily, and even if he was being playful he wasn’t _wrong_ . Zuko watched as their dicks slid together in and out of Sokka’s hands and though he wasn’t much longer than Zuko he definitely had some girth on him. Zuko wanted it _in_ him. At some point, at least. Right now he didn’t have the time, patience, _or_ stamina for that. 

The two of them began thrusting into Sokka’s hand in time with each other and it felt beyond amazing. Sokka leaned down to capture Zuko’s mouth in a sloppy kiss, hand and thrusts speeding up, and Zuko brought his hands around to grip Sokka’s strong shoulders, holding on for dear life. 

“C’mon, Zuko. I want you to let go. I want you to come for me,” Sokka murmured into Zuko’s mouth. 

Zuko whimpered as he felt himself near that edge. Sokka continued to whisper praise and encouragement to him, tightening his fist even more and Zuko moaned, overstimulated and desperate for release. He bit his lip, trying to control the noises that were almost involuntary - and borderline embarrassing - at this point. 

“No, baby. I wanna hear you,” Sokka encouraged. 

And it shouldn’t have surprised Zuko that Sokka’s dirty mouth was what finally did him in. He cried out, arching up into Sokka and coming all over Sokka’s hand and his own belly, Sokka whispering praise and encouragement the whole time. Sokka stroked Zuko through it, but right as Zuko was nearing the verge of overstimulation, Sokka let go of Zuko and made quick work of himself. 

Zuko’s mind was effectively blown and he was getting fuzzy with the afterglow but he had enough sense of mind to bring his hand down to not only play with Sokka’s balls but also to trace one of his fingers lightly over his perineum and around his hole. 

“You can come on me,” Zuko said hoarsely. 

Sokka made a choked noise and did just that, spilling over Zuko’s spent cock and abs. Sokka’s hand slowed as he came down from his high and leaned his forehead against Zuko’s, breaths ragged. 

He nearly collapsed to the side when he was done, hooking one leg over Zuko’s thigh and tilting his head for a sweet kiss. They laid there, soaking up that post-orgasm bliss, trading kisses and laughing softly into each other’s mouths. Eventually, Sokka patted Zuko’s come-covered belly.

“I can either get you a towel or we can take a shower,” Sokka offered. “We’re pretty disgusting right now.” 

“And whose fault is that?”

“Well, I’d say it was a team effort, seeing as you have both of our spunk all over your abs,” Sokka grinned.

“You’re gross..but you’re right,” Zuko admitted. “Let’s shower.”

“Awesome, then breakfast at the diner?” Sokka asked, then waggled his eyebrows. “You helped me work up quite an appetite.”

“Yes, but only if you stop making bad jokes.” 

“I will never stop making bad jokes,” Sokka said with faux seriousness. “I’m your boyfriend now so you’d better get used to them.”

Zuko’s stomach gave a little flutter at the reminder and at hearing that word come out of Sokka’s mouth. 

“Yeah, I guess you are, huh?” he said dopily, and Sokka pulled him in for one last kiss before they rose from the bed. 

Zuko threw his shorts back on - his bathroom was across the hall and while he didn’t think Mai was up yet, he didn’t want to accidentally traumatize her - and went to grab towels from his closet while Sokka searched for his briefs. 

When he turned back, towels in hand it was to find Sokka frozen, holding his briefs, and looking at something on Zuko’s desk. When he heard Zuko approach, he turned to him.

“The puck. From my first game. You kept it?” Sokka’s voice was soft and the look in his eyes was so vulnerable, it made Zuko ache.

“Sokka. Yes, of course, I kept it. Even then, I could tell that you’d be important to me,” Zuko said honestly. Sokka just strode across the room and pulled Zuko into a kiss that communicated more to Zuko than any words ever could. It was interrupted by the growling of Sokka’s stomach which made them both laugh.

“Alright. Enough of me being a sap. Let’s shower and then get some well-deserved breakfast.”

They shuffled into the bathroom together, Zuko fiddling with the shower’s temperature before ridding himself of his clothes and hopping in. Sokka followed suit.

“Do you mind if I ask you something?” Sokka asked as he washed the dried come off Zuko’s belly.

“Go for it.”

“The other week,” Sokka started, “when we were making out on your couch and things got a little, uh, intense, was everything really okay? I know earlier you said you’d been wanting to have sex with me but you weren’t ready yet, but it seemed like there was more to it. I don’t want to push, I just want to know so that I can better understand your boundaries.”

Zuko took a breath, wondering how to proceed with this conversation, and one of Sokka’s hands came up to trace the planes of Zuko’s face with his thumb. The contact was grounding. 

“The last person I was with,” Zuko explained quietly, “he left me feeling used, and foolish. I fell for his game and gave him too much of myself too soon. I knew you were different from the start, but I was still so guarded. I was terrified of letting myself be vulnerable with another person like that again, only to have it thrown in my face.”

“Well,” Sokka said, continuing to trace the angles of Zuko’s face, “thank you for trusting me.”

“Thank you for being someone worthy of my trust,” Zuko replied. 

They finished their shower quickly, drying off and getting changed back in Zuko’s room. Sokka unfortunately had to wear the same jeans as last night, but Zuko found a red t-shirt that was slightly too big for him that Sokka could borrow. It was still obscenely tight on Sokka, of course, but it was the best that they could do at the moment. It was a brisk morning, so Sokka also threw on his sweatshirt from the night before while Zuko opted for a flannel and the pair walked hand in hand downtown to the diner. 

They were seated immediately as it was still fairly early on a Saturday for most college kids to be out for breakfast. They ordered quickly, both of them ravenous due to both the party the night before and their early morning activities. 

They were chatting and sipping on coffee, waiting for their food, when Sokka’s phone pinged a few times in a row. He checked it, rolling his eyes before looking up at Zuko.

“Is it okay if I tell Suki we’re official?” Sokka asked. “If I tell her you know it’s going to spread like wildfire and soon enough all our other friends will know, too.”

“Yeah, of course...do you want them to know?” Zuko asked.

“Uh, _duh_ , not that any of them will be surprised. I just wanted to make sure you were okay with it,” Sokka explained. 

“I mean it took us long enough to get our shit together,” Zuko said, lightheartedly.

“Ugh I know, but I had a _plan_ ,” Sokka whined. “I was gonna take you out to this spot I know, outside the city. It’s an overlook up in the mountains where you can see both the skyline and the stars. And I was gonna take the second row of seats out of my jeep and take the top off and get a space heater and bring a bunch of blankets and we were gonna cuddle and look at the stars and I was gonna ask you! Plan B was gonna be asking you here and now at breakfast. It’s why Suki’s blowing up my phone. Me asking you last night was definitely not even Plan C but I won’t take it back.”

Zuko was, for what seemed like the millionth time, touched by Sokka’s thoughtfulness. He reached across the table to take his boyfriend’s hand.

“You know it doesn’t matter to me how it happened. I’m just glad it did,” Zuko shrugged. “But the jeep thing sounds fun. I’d be all in for that.”

Sokka smiled at him brightly but was interrupted from saying anything by their waitress bringing their plates of food. Zuko was about ready to dig in, a happy tilt to his lips from the incredible morning he was having when he heard the telltale sound of a phone camera going off. He looked up at Sokka accusingly. 

“I’m sorry! You just look so cute, I want to brag about you to the world,” Sokka showed Zuko his phone. It _was_ a cute picture. “Can I post this on my Insta story and tag you?” 

It was silly but Sokka wanting to show him off to the world made a small lump rise in Zuko’s throat.

“Yeah, yes. Of course,” Zuko said thickly. 

He watched as Sokka grinned down at his phone, typing something, then locked his phone, silencing it, and setting it face down on the table. 

“I’m sure everyone is about to start blowing our phones up,” Sokka said, before digging into his breakfast. “They can wait. I wanna enjoy my first breakfast out with my boyfriend unbothered.”

Zuko laughed and checked his own phone to see an Instagram notification. He clicked to see Sokka’s story he was tagged in. It was a picture of Zuko, looking down and smiling to himself. He had to admit, he _did_ look cute. The caption read “officially a member of simp nation” with Zuko’s handle tagged under it. Zuko reposted it to his own Instagram story, then also silenced his phone, putting it on the table next to Sokka’s. He knew they’d both open their phones to a barrage of text messages from their friends, but for now, Zuko was gonna enjoy a nice breakfast with his hot simp of a boyfriend in peace. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> we love communication and enthusiastic consent 
> 
> so.....next chapter will be the last one :((( this story has been so fun to write and i've loved every minute of it. thank you guys for being such awesome readers.
> 
> as always, you can find me on [tumblr](https://khaleeseas.tumblr.com/)!


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> there's more explicit content in this chapter (definitely more so than the last chapter) so if that's not your thing, feel free to skip. there will be a pretty obvious lead up w/ a text break and then another text break once its over!
> 
> -
> 
> anyway ...wow i can't believe this is finally over. i've loved every second of writing this and loved it even more thanks to all of your comments, messages, kudos, and support. i literally feel like im dropping my first born off at college with this final chapter. hope you guys enjoy ❤️

Sokka was lying in bed with a very sated, very naked Zuko sprawled on top of him when his boyfriend’s phone rang, disrupting their peaceful afternoon. Zuko groaned dramatically.

“That’s my sister’s ringtone. I should answer it,” he said, begrudgingly. He grabbed his phone from Sokka’s bedside table, answering it. “Hey, what’s up?”

“Oh, hi, Zuzu,” Sokka heard Azula’s tinny voice on the other end of the line.

“ _Zuzu_?” Sokka mouthed. 

Zuko shot him a dark look, and Sokka had to hold back laughter.

“What do you want, Azula?”

“Oh I hope I wasn’t interrupting you and Sokka’s nooner,” Azula said casually and Zuko looked at Sokka with wide eyes. That girl was terrifying. How did she _know_? “I was wondering if you’d be in attendance at Tuesday dinner...and Uncle was wondering if he should set the table for four tonight.”

Sokka raised a brow at Zuko in confusion. Tuesday dinner?

“Let me ask Sokka what his plans are and I’ll text Uncle,” Zuko replied. “Also you really just could’ve asked this in a text.”

“Oh I know. This is just far more fun,” Azula said, smugly. “And by the way, hi Sokka! I know you’re listening. Hope to see you later!”

Azula hung up and Zuko looked up at Sokka apprehensively. 

“So...Azula and I have dinner with our Uncle pretty much every Tuesday. I know we’ve only officially been boyfriends for a little over a week, but you may have been a subject of conversation at many a Tuesday dinner over the last two-plus months. I, uh, of course, told him last week that we made it official and he wants to meet you. If it’s too soon I totally understand, we can always wait - ”

“I’ll come,” Sokka said, simply. It was definitely nerve-wracking for Sokka to be meeting the man that meant so much to Zuko, but he could tell this was important to Zuko. 

“Oh,” Zuko said brightly, looking genuinely surprised. His face broke out into a grin that gave Sokka butterflies. “Great! Okay. I’ll text Uncle. Your afternoon class today ends at five-thirty, right? We normally get there around 6:30. Do you want me to pick you up or would you like to meet me there?”

“Send me the address and I’ll meet you there. That way you don’t feel like you have to leave your uncle’s early just to get me back at a decent hour or whatever.”

“Okay,” Zuko smiled, then checked the time. “Oh, shit! I should probably get going if I’m gonna make my afternoon lecture. I’ll text you his address, okay? Thanks for agreeing to this. He’s been wanting to meet you.”

“Anything for you,” Sokka said playfully, but he really, truly meant it.

* * *

Zuko felt his sister’s smug expression as she watched him pace through their uncle’s apartment above the Jasmine Dragon. Iroh was in the kitchen finishing up the noodles he’d promised to not make _too_ spicy for Sokka’s South Pole palate. 

“Oh, Agni, this is gonna be a disaster,” Zuko moaned. 

“Relax,” Azula rolled her eyes, but there was no true malice in her voice. “It’s going to be fine. Uncle will love him and Sokka’s already met me so that’s half the battle.”

Zuko’s phone buzzed with a text from Sokka.

“Shit, he’s here!”

A knock on Iroh’s front door followed shortly after and Zuko rushed to open the door before his sister or uncle could. He yanked the door open to see a nervous-looking Sokka holding a bouquet of fresh flowers. 

“Hi,” Sokka said, leaning in to give Zuko a peck. He heard Azula gag dramatically behind him. “Not to be weird but these aren’t for you. They’re actually for your uncle. They’re flowers from -”

“The White Dragon Bush!” Iroh exclaimed behind him. 

“Uh, yeah. I mean I know you love tea, obviously, and Aang told me about this flower and how it makes a really delicious tea. He knows a vendor in Little Ba Sing Se so I popped over there on my way,” Sokka explained, blushing a little as he handed the bouquet over to Iroh. “Nice to finally meet you, by the way, sir.”

Iroh took the bouquet, patting Sokka on the shoulder.

“Nice to finally meet you, too, Sokka,” Iroh said, happily. “Zuko talks about you all the time. I can see why. And please, call me Iroh. Let me set these in the kitchen and I’ll get dinner started. You three sit and settle in!”

Zuko pulled Sokka in for another kiss. 

“You’re the sweetest. And so thoughtful. Thank you for coming,” Zuko said. 

“Ugh, ew, you two really are as disgusting as all our friends say,” Azula muttered.

“Hi, Azula,” Sokka grinned, peeking around Zuko to look at her. “How are you?”

“I’d be better if you two losers would stop sucking face right in front of me,” she intoned. 

“Not likely,” Sokka shot back, then kissed Zuko again, for good measure. 

Zuko led him through the main living area and into the dining alcove between the main room and the kitchen. Iroh already set the table for four, so they sat, leaving a space for him between Azula and Zuko and across from Sokka. Iroh came out shortly thereafter, serving everyone their bowl and then taking his own seat.

“So…,” Iroh started. “Zuko never did tell me how you two met.”

Azula snorted, laughing into her noodles. A pretty blush rose under Sokka’s brown skin. He looked at Zuko who nodded before going into a slightly watered-down version of the fateful frat party on that late August night. 

“Yeah and then the two of them spent over two months dancing around each other before _finally_ making it official,” Azula chided.

“Now Azula, sometimes the best things in life take time,” Iroh explained, sagely. 

The conversation carried on as Sokka told Iroh what he was in school for as well as about hockey and how the season was going. The conversation from there flowed easily and the rest of the dinner passed seamlessly, Sokka fitting right in. 

Uncle brewed them White Dragon Tea for “dessert” which was as delicious as he’d claimed and Sokka ended up giving him the vendor’s information so Iroh could buy some for himself, and potentially strike up a deal to carry it in the shop.

When it was time for Sokka to leave, Iroh gave him a hug, letting him know that he was welcome to come to Tuesday dinner any time he wanted, which was practically a shining endorsement from his uncle. After Zuko returned back up to his uncle’s apartment after walking Sokka down to his car with a kiss goodbye, it was Zuko’s turn to be on the other end of one of Iroh’s hugs. 

“Oh, nephew,” Iroh said, voice tight. “He’s great. I’m so happy for you.”

Zuko hugged his uncle back tightly. As much as he knew Iroh wasn’t a harsh judge of character, his uncle’s approval of Sokka still meant a lot to him.

* * *

The weeks passed and the boys only got busier as finals loomed. They spent more time than not together, in between classes, on the weekends, and even at night - sleeping over at one apartment or the other. 

Sokka was still incredibly busy - nearly working himself to the bone between school, extracurriculars, and hockey - and his stress level only went up as the semester wore on. Zuko was feeling the pressure, too, but nowhere near as much as Sokka was.

Still. He always made time for Zuko. He even made sure to come to as many of Zuko’s martial arts competitions as he could - to the point that he showed up at an eight a.m. meet after only getting back in town from an away game at three a.m. the night before - sitting in the stands with Katara and whoever else of their friends showed up. He followed up on his promise to take Zuko stargazing in the jeep, and even though it was broaching on winter and _freezing_ outside, Sokka had planned ahead with a bunch of blankets, a space heater, and _plenty_ of body warmth under the covers to drive away the chill.

The nights without Sokka were starting to feel empty and Zuko was dreading winter break. Sokka had casually offered for Zuko to come to the South Pole with him for the Winter Solstice and as tempting as it was, he knew his place was in the city so he could spend the holidays with his uncle. Sokka was of course understanding but instead insisted that Zuko should visit another time - “Maybe spring break!” - so they could still catch the snowy season and go penguin sledding. 

The week of finals, they got in their first fight. 

It wasn’t so much a fight as it was a brief back-and-forth argument over nothing in particular, fueled by stress, hunger, and lack of sleep. Zuko may have come leaps and bounds since his teenage years - thanks mostly in part to therapy - but he still had a temper and, as much as he loved him, Sokka had the potential to be kind of a dick when he was under pressure. 

They were in the library on reading day, and Zuko didn’t quite remember who or what started it - whether it was Sokka playing his music too loud, even through his headphones, or Zuko’s incessant tapping of his pen - but one of them snapped then the other snapped back, bickering quietly at each other before Sokka sat back, exhaling and rubbing his eyes.

“Look. We’re both tired, stressed, and probably hangry. I’m gonna grab something from the late-night To-Go line in the student center. I’ll be back in like, fifteen. You want anything?”

“No. I’m fine,” Zuko snapped, sitting back and crossing his arms. 

Sokka just sighed, getting up from the table and putting his headphones back in for the short walk. 

“Alright just...text me if you change your mind,” Sokka huffed, though it sounded like he was trying to make peace. 

As soon as Sokka walked away, Zuko deflated. 

He’d been so good at keeping his temper under control around Sokka, mostly because Sokka was so easy for him to be around, and he hated the feeling after an argument with someone he cared about, no matter how minuscule. Also, he _was_ hungry and the To-Go line had really fucking good mozzarella sticks that he loved. But as much as he wanted them, his pride won out over his hunger and he beat the urge to text Sokka. 

Instead, he threw himself back into his essay. Typically, writing came easy to him, but only if it was for a subject he cared about. Writing an essay for _Research Methods in Political Science_ was like pulling literal teeth. It only soured his mood further.

Twenty-some-odd minutes must’ve passed because he heard Sokka clearing his throat and looked up to see his boyfriend standing on the other side of the table, holding out a box of what could only be the campus dining services’ weirdly delicious mozzarella sticks as a peace offering.

Zuko took it, opening the box to see that Sokka had remembered to get him both marinara sauce and ranch and he looked back up to Sokka’s chagrined puppy eyes.

“I’m sorry!” They both blurted at the same time.

Sokka’s eyebrows went through a myriad of expressions before he finally settled on quietly laughing (they were still in the library, after all) and Zuko followed suit. 

“I _am_ sorry,” Zuko said through a mouthful of mozzarella sticks as Sokka sat back across from him. “I know my temper can get the best of me. I shouldn't have gotten all snappy.”

“I’m sorry, too,” Sokka replied. “I know I can be kind of an ass when I’m stressed out. Let’s just promise to find a way to tell one another we need a minute so that we don’t take our shit out on each other next time.”

“Deal,” Zuko agreed. 

And maybe it was the fact that his belly was full now, and Sokka had linked their ankles under the table, and he was smiling happily to himself as he nibbled on his own chicken nuggets, but Zuko almost, _almost_ said what had been on the tip of his tongue for weeks now.

_I love you, by the way._

* * *

Katara, Toph, and Suki threw an end-of-finals party for their group of friends in their shared apartment (due to the fact that it had the biggest common area) and after a week and a half straight of the misery that was finals, everyone was more than ready to blow off some steam. 

Sokka was in the kitchen snacking on buffalo chicken dip and nursing his first beer of the night when he felt his boyfriend’s arms snake around his waist.

“Don’t drink too much,” Zuko whispered into his ear. “I wanna dip early so you can take me home and fuck me.”

Sokka choked, spitting up a little bit of his beer. Zuko was rarely _this_ forward with him. While his boyfriend was definitely always a willing and eager participant, Sokka felt like he was typically the one who initiated things, which was fine. But on the occasions where Zuko got verbal and demanding of what he wanted from Sokka, it drove Sokka crazy. 

The party had just begun and already Sokka was trying his hardest not to dip out right then and there, dragging his boyfriend with him. Leaving the function early to go home and hook up had become one of their favorite past-times in the last month-and-a-half that they’d been together. And while he knew penetrative sex _wasn’t_ the end all be all, it wasn’t something that they’d crossed off Sokka’s “list” yet. It was something they’d talked about and prepared for but Sokka wanted to take his time and make it good and between finals and how busy they’d both been before that, it just hadn’t happened. Not that they weren’t all over each other all the time - they were - the timing had never been right. But he was ready and Zuko was ready and now all that stood between them was a few hours of socializing with their friends. Sokka could do this.

* * *

“Zuko, baby, _honey,_ ” Sokka panted as his boyfriend did wicked things to his dick with his mouth. “You’re so good, but you’ve gotta stop or this is gonna be over before we even really get started.”

Zuko pulled off of him in what seemed like a begrudging manner - and _Spirits_ how was Sokka so lucky? - and instead came up to capture Sokka’s mouth in a filthy kiss. 

They’d stayed at the party for a respectable amount of time, both of them limiting their alcohol intake, but eventually, Sokka couldn’t take Zuko’s heated looks any longer and they called an Uber. The pair all but made an Irish exit, save for Sokka throwing Suki a wink on the way out as Zuko tugged him out the door. 

“Okay,” Zuko breathed. “Like I said, I want you to fuck me, anyway. Is that okay?”

“Is that okay? He asks me,” Sokka muttered. “That is a-okay with me, buddy. I mean unless you wanted to fuck me?” 

That made Zuko pause and look at Sokka like he hadn’t even considered it as an option. Which, _duh_ it was.

“Have you ever bottomed before?” Zuko asked him.

“Not with another man,” Sokka admitted, honestly. At Zuko’s confused expression, Sokka continued. “Suki has a strap.”

Zuko went silent above him, eyes glazing over.

“Oh, Spirits was that TMI? Or does that weird you out?” Sokka immediately asked, panicking a little.

_“No_ , no, no, no! You just...short circuited my brain for a minute there. The mental image was really hot. I’m not all that surprised knowing Suki but like...I still was not expecting _that_.”

“I’m full of surprises,” Sokka teased, though he still felt a current of unease after his moment of vulnerability. 

Seeming to sense this, Zuko pulled Sokka up for a sweet kiss. 

“I would love to return the favor at some point,” Zuko said. “But I’ve been thinking about you inside of me for a long time now, and I’m being greedy tonight. I want you to pin me down and fuck me like you mean it. I think we both deserve that after killing it on all our finals.”

Sokka swore, almost fumbling to get the lube and condoms from his bedside table. They’d both been tested together, but condoms made the clean up a little easier and gave them extra peace of mind.

“How do you want to do this?” Sokka asked.

“As much as I’d love to watch you, I think on my stomach to start is probably the best idea. You’re not exactly small by any means and, uh...it’s been a while.”

“Whatever you want,” Sokka agreed with a kiss. 

Zuko flipped to his belly, then came up to his hands and knees, wiggling his ass at Sokka playfully. Sokka couldn’t resist as he brought down a light swat to Zuko’s right asscheek as he got into position behind him. Zuko moaned.

“Hurry up and prep me. I want to feel you,” Zuko whined. 

Sokka placed a steadying hand at the small of his boyfriend’s back. 

“Patience,” Sokka said. “I told you I wanted to take my time with this, so I’m going to.”

Zuko moaned again but seemed to settle a little at Sokka’s demands. He always responded so well to Sokka being bossy. 

With Zuko on all fours, his back arched beautifully, it took all of Sokka’s inner strength to fight the urge to eat his boyfriend out. It was one of their mutual favorite things and something Sokka had done to Zuko a lot as they explored their newfound sex life together. But Sokka knew if he did it now, this would be over quickly. So instead he slicked up his fingers, warming the lube. He played with Zuko’s rim a little, getting it nice and wet, before slowly, carefully slipping his first finger in. 

“Sokka, you know I can take two right off the bat, especially when I’m already so turned on,” Zuko complained. 

Sokka brought another slap to Zuko’s ass. 

“ _Patience_ ,” He reiterated but gave Zuko his wish. His boyfriend sighed happily as Sokka began to work him open with two fingers, alternating between scissoring and crooking his fingers _just right_ to hit that sweet spot. Sokka carried on like that for some time, carefully prepping Zuko. Eventually, Zuko started to squirm, his own silent way of telling Sokka it wasn’t enough. 

Sokka reslicked his fingers, carefully coming back with three this time. The noise Zuko made at the new addition went right to Sokka’s dick.

“I love how responsive you are,” Sokka whispered more to himself than Zuko, but Zuko just moaned louder all the same. 

Sokka was trying to take his time, truly. But between the noises coming out of Zuko’s mouth and the way he was pretty much thrusting back to fuck himself on Sokka’s fingers, even Sokka’s control was slipping.

“Baby, _please_ ,” Zuko begged and for all that Sokka was stern with him, he couldn’t resist his boyfriend when he begged.

“Fuck, okay, okay,” Sokka acquiesced, removing his fingers and moving to quickly put the condom on. 

Zuko whined at the loss, but Sokka shushed him. He slicked himself up quickly, but thoroughly. He lined himself up, teasing at Zuko’s rim with the head of his cock, before checking in one last time.

“Are you ready?” Sokka asked.

“ _Yes_ , Sokka. C’mon,” Zuko hissed, wriggling back into Sokka to prove his point.

“Okay, just be still for a minute,” Sokka said as he slowly, carefully slid into Zuko. He took a couple of shallow thrusts, paving his way before bottoming out. 

He started at a steady pace, not wanting to give Zuko too much too soon. Zuko wasn’t having it, meeting Sokka thrust for thrust and Sokka got the picture, picking up the pace. Fucking Zuko like this was the perfect position for Sokka to reach forward and pull at Zuko’s hair, so he did just that. It also gave him a spectacular view of his boyfriend’s powerful shoulders and back, as well as his ass, of course.

The only downside was that Zuko’s moans were muffled into his pillow and he couldn’t watch the reactions on his pretty face, which was truly one of Sokka’s favorite things to do, so after some time he pulled out, flopping on his back next to a confused Zuko. 

“Ride me,” he said, and Zuko wasted no time.

Zuko straddled his hips, lining Sokka back up with his own hand and sinking down slowly, head thrown back in pleasure. He immediately started riding Sokka near desperately, using Sokka’s pecs to brace himself, and though it felt fucking amazing and was hot as hell to watch Zuko lose himself, Sokka wanted to remind him who was in charge. He grabbed Zuko’s hips, controlling his movements into a slow, deep roll. Sokka planted his feet on the bed, meeting Zuko thrust for thrust. 

“There it is,” Sokka murmured, gripping Zuko’s ass and kneading his cheeks. “So good.”

Zuko made a noise at the praise that Sokka filed away in his “explore more later” section of his brain regarding Zuko. 

Zuko listened, controlling the grind of his hips and falling into the pattern Sokka was urging him into. But after some time of keeping a steady rhythm together, Zuko nearly collapsed down on top of Sokka kissing him slowly.

“I thought I asked you to pin me down and fuck me into your bed?” Zuko dared, breathlessly. 

Sokka made a guttural noise in the back of his throat at the challenge before using the strength and leverage of his thighs to effectively flip Zuko over and onto his back.

Zuko looked almost smug before Sokka was grasping him at the apex of both his thighs, yanking him back down the bed. 

He guided himself back inside Zuko before doing precisely as his boyfriend asked, blanketing their bodies together and pinning his wrists to the bed before starting to fuck him in earnest.

“Is that what you wanted, baby?” Sokka asked, picking up his speed and power. Zuko just whined, tossing his head back. 

“ _Tell me_ ,” Sokka demanded.

“Fuck, yes, it’s what I wanted!” Zuko gasped. 

Pleased with himself, Sokka continued at a brutal pace - Zuko nonverbal, save for his moans timed with each thrust, beneath him - until he felt the tug in his belly of his own impending orgasm. He took Zuko’s wrists in one hand, bringing his other down to stroke Zuko’s cock. He was going to get his boyfriend off first if it was the last thing he did. Zuko must’ve already been on the brink of coming as it barely took a half a dozen strokes, with some words of praise from Sokka added in, before Zuko was calling out his name both in warning and pleasure, coming all over his own belly. Only once Zuko was spent, nearly limp beneath him, did Sokka focus on himself. Zuko’s encouragement and his hands pulling Sokka down into a sloppy kiss as Sokka continued to fuck him were the only indications that he was still in this. Sokka followed not long after, coming so hard he literally felt himself get light-headed with the intensity of it. 

Sokka all but collapsed on top of Zuko who let out a little “ _oof_ ” but didn’t complain. 

“Holy shit, we’re good at that,” Zuko said incredulously, chest still heaving a little as he stroked Sokka’s sweaty hair. 

Sokka just laughed, “damn right we are.”

* * *

The next morning, Zuko sat on Sokka’s bed, cross-legged and sleep rumpled and _so cute,_ watching Sokka with absolute puppy dog eyes while he packed for winter break. Sokka, Katara, and Aang’s flight home was leaving later that day, and the two of them were coming to pick Sokka up in a few hours. 

“Hey, it’s only a month,” Sokka consoled. “I promise we’ll call and facetime and then we’ll be back at school together.”

“I know,” Zuko said sullenly. “But I’ll miss you all the same.”

Sokka sat next to Zuko on the bed, turning to face him.

“I’ll miss you, too,” Sokka said, and something about the moment felt right. “And I know this might be soon, but I just want you to know...I love you, Zuko.” 

It felt so _freeing_ to say that.

He heard Zuko’s surprised intake of breath before Zuko was kissing him fiercely. 

“I love you, too, Sokka,” Zuko whispered. “And I’ll see you soon?”

“Yeah,” Sokka agreed, kissing Zuko again. “I’ll see you soon.” 

* * *

Winter break without Sokka dragged. He lived for his phone calls and facetime dates with Sokka. It wasn’t the same, but it definitely filled the Sokka-shaped hole in his life a little. Also, their exchanged “ _ I love you _ ”s at the end of every phone call still gave Zuko butterflies. 

Halfway through January, Sokka returned, coming straight from the airport to Zuko’s apartment where they spent the night in each others’ arms, talking, laughing, and getting _well_ reacquainted.

Spring semester began, flying by in a blur of school, Sokka, his friends, his internship, and more Sokka.

The hockey season ended in late March with Republic City University coming in second place overall in the playoffs. Zuko knew Sokka was a little bummed that they didn’t win the trophy, but Sokka was proud that they even made it as far as they did in the first place. He didn’t even think they’d make it to the finals at all so second place was still a win for him. 

It didn’t actually hit Zuko that he’d be graduating soon until he was reclined on the loveseat in his apartment, between Sokka’s legs, while they watched _The Bachelor_ with his sister, Mai, and Ty Lee. 

“Ugh, I can’t believe you two are moving in together and ditching me,” Azula complained during a commercial break, though Zuko knew she was happy for them.

“We’ve offered to let you live with us,” Mai said, nonplussed.

“And not only third wheel all the time, but have to potentially listen to you two bang? No thanks.”

“Well, you third-wheeling wouldn’t be all that different from now,” Ty Lee offered. Azula glared. 

“Oh well, I guess I can’t be that mad. After all, I was expecting the two of you to U-Haul on me years ago when you first started dating. I’m surprised you made it this long without moving in together. But I’ll think about moving in with you two. Agni knows I don’t want to get a random roommate for my senior year.” 

“You know, since Suki’s graduating and moving to Ba Sing Se, Katara, and Toph are looking for a roommate too,” Sokka offered. “I’m sure they’d love to have you.”

Azula paused, considering for a moment. 

“You know, that isn’t such a bad idea,” she admitted. “I’ll text them. Thanks, Sokka.”

The commercial break ended shortly thereafter, but the conversation got Zuko thinking. He barely registered the rest of the episode, even as the girls and Sokka all but screamed at the Bachelor for giving the “villain” of the season a rose, yet again. 

As he fell asleep that night, Sokka in his arms, he continued to think. They were both graduating in mid-May. That was a little over a month and a half away. Their leases would be up at the end of the summer and they’d both be moving on and finding real, big-boy jobs. Their lives were about to change in every way. He loved Sokka, _so damn much_ , and he knew Sokka loved him. But just because Sokka loved him, it didn’t necessarily mean he saw a future for them together. 

Zuko absolutely did. There was no doubt about that. 

Zuko had thought that once they were together, it would be the end of all the hard conversations, but he was learning that was far from the case. It was a conversation they absolutely needed to have, but Zuko needed the right time and place to broach the subject with Sokka.

* * *

The beginning of April brought with it the first, true warm and sunny day of spring. Zuko was sitting on a blanket near the turtleduck pond with Sokka’s head in his lap. Zuko was going through some campaign ideas on his tablet while Sokka read from a textbook bigger than his head. Zuko had some good news for Sokka, and with that news came the perfect opportunity to have _that_ conversation.

“Hey, babe?” Zuko asked.

“Mhmm?” Sokka replied, still focused on his textbook.

“Can we talk for a sec?”

Sokka immediately closed his book and sat up to face Zuko. 

“Everything okay?” Sokka asked, the divot between his brow that meant he was worried immediately appearing.

“Everything’s fine,” Zuko promised. “I’ve just been thinking a lot lately about the future. About our future.”

He took Sokka’s hand, squeezing it. 

“We’re about to graduate,” Zuko explained, “and start our lives. I just want to make it clear to you that I want that life to include you. My Councilwoman offered me a full-time job with her here in Republic City when I graduate, but I know you have an engineering firm in Ba Sing Se that’s been trying to recruit you. If that’s where you want to go, know that I’m willing to do long distance for however long it takes if it means I can be with you.” 

Sokka took a deep breath, swallowing like there was a lump in his throat. 

“That firm has been coming for me pretty hard...but I’m already in negotiations with another firm here in Republic City that’s offering me even more money and is more along the lines of what interests me. A lot of it is hands-on, in the field work, but it’ll also allow me to do lots of research in order to improve and maybe even invent new technology. I’m staying here.”

Zuko felt his heart swell. But there was one more thing they needed to talk about.

“So since that’s the case...I know that you know Mai and Ty Lee are moving in together - which is fine, I’d planned on moving out of the college area of the city and more into the true downtown near the government offices - so I’ll be conveniently out of a roommate. I don’t want to screw this up by moving too fast, and you know how much I need my own space sometimes, so that’s something to consider, too.”

“Are you asking me if I want to move in with you?” Sokka asked and he seemed excited by the prospect. 

“Well, that. And I just want you to know that whatever my future holds, I see you as a huge and important part of it,” Zuko explained. “I want to make that clear. But I also want to do this right and not rush anything.”

Sokka took Zuko’s face in both of his big hands, kissing him firmly.

“I will always want you in my life, and I’d love to move in together. We could get something bigger - like a townhouse or a two-bedroom, or a two-bedroom townhouse - that way we can have more space and won’t be on top of each other all the time. I mean our leases aren’t up until the end of the summer anyway and by that time we’ll have been together for almost a year. It feels like taking the next step. I think by then we’ll be ready for it. Hell, I’d be ready for it now,” Sokka admitted. 

Zuko laughed, kissing the back of his boyfriend’s hand.

“So it’s settled, then?” Zuko asked, heart hammering happily in his chest. 

“Yeah, probably just one condition though,” Sokka said.

“And what is that?” Zuko questioned. 

“You gotta meet my dads first.”

* * *

Zuko didn’t actually get to meet Sokka’s dads until the week before graduation. They were of course in town for the occasion, so the four of them met out for dinner at a local restaurant. Both Hakoda and Bato immediately warm to Zuko, forgoing a handshake for hugs. As they all sat in a booth together, Zuko watched them bicker playfully over the menu and he finally understood what Sokka meant when he said the two of them were “chaotic” together. He exchanged a look with Sokka that he hoped to express that he wanted that to be the two of them in thirty years' time. 

Hakoda and Bato told Zuko the story of how they finally realized their feelings for each other. Hakoda had nearly lost his mind after a game when Bato got hurt on the ice and it hit them both that their close friendship had slowly evolved into something _else_ over the years. They then lost their shit at Zuko’s retelling of their own “how we met story” (this one less watered-down than the version Sokka had told Iroh), howling with laughter so loud it made the tables near them stare. 

Sokka crossed his arms, pouting (a little dramatically in Zuko’s opinion).

“Awww, don’t be that way, son,” Hakoda said. “I think it’s sweet in its own way. And I’d honestly expect nothing less from you.”

Zuko just pulled at Sokka’s arm closest to him, kissing his boyfriend on the cheek, and Sokka gave up the charade that he was offended.

“It is kind of funny when you think about it, I guess,” he admitted, sheepishly.

The rest of the dinner was spent with Hakoda and Bato telling Zuko embarrassing stories about Sokka from his childhood all while getting to know him and asking him polite questions about himself. They casually avoided asking Zuko about his parents, but did ask about Iroh and his tea shop - which they decided they’d have to visit on an “old man date” - so Zuko assumed Sokka gave them the “Ozai Warning” before meeting him. It was fine with Zuko, something he was thankful for, truly. Between the easy banter and the warm acceptance from the two men, Zuko immediately felt right at home.

* * *

Iroh and Azula met him at his apartment the morning of graduation for pictures and all that pomp-and-circumstance. Zuko was going to meet up with Sokka, Suki, Haru, and a few others on campus so they could all go to the campus graduation ceremony before splitting off to their major-specific ceremonies. 

Before he left though, Iroh stopped him with a gentle hand on his shoulder. 

“I just want to say how proud I am of you and the man you’ve become,” Iroh said, thickly. “Ever since I lost Lu Ten and took you in...well I’ve thought of you as my son. You’re going to do great things, Zuko. I know it.”

It was  _ way _ too early in the day to be crying but dammit, Iroh got to him. Zuko pulled his uncle in for a fierce hug.

“Thank you, Uncle,” Zuko whispered. “For everything. For being the father I needed and deserved.”

Zuko was still a little misty-eyed when he met Sokka at the fountain. His boyfriend immediately took his hand.

“Everything okay?”

Zuko nodded. 

“They’re happy tears,” he promised. 

Sokka pulled Zuko in for a kiss, then played with his cap.

“We did it, huh?” Sokka said, wistfully. 

“Yeah. We did. I can’t believe it’s over,” Zuko pondered.

“College might be over,” Sokka agreed. “But the rest of our lives are just about to begin.”

Zuko squeezed his hand and they walked in comfortable silence to the outdoor stadium the university-wide ceremony was being held in. They met up with their friends outside before filing in to the chairs set up on the grass. Sokka sat to his right during the ceremony, which was just a bunch of speeches, holding his hand the whole time. When the time came they switched their tassels over to the other side then giggled as they threw their caps up in the air...only to immediately run to pick them up afterward. 

They divided up from there to go to each of their major’s ceremonies where they’d get their actual diplomas. Walking across that stage and shaking the hand of one of his favorite professors while his uncle and sister cheered for him in the crowd felt surreal. 

Later, once things had settled down and what seemed like millions of pictures had been taken, they all met up at the Jasmine Dragon where Iroh, Hakoda, and Bato had arranged for a catered dinner for Sokka, Zuko, Suki, and their family and friends. 

Zuko looked around the room as everyone dug into their dinner, laughing and talking and enjoying themselves. His sister, Ty Lee, Mai, and Suki were having a very excitable discussion about Spirits even knew what. Suki’s parents were currently enthralled by a story Hakoda and Bato were telling them about their time in the NHL. Katara and Aang were wrapped up in each other per usual, they were somehow even worse than himself and Sokka. Toph and his uncle - who had a weird bond even Zuko couldn’t explain - were having what looked like a deep chat. 

The room was loud and borderline chaotic, but Zuko  _ reveled _ in it, his heart light as air.  _ This is my family _ , he realized. The family he found for himself, the family he'd built. If he could go back in time, for one thing, it would be to tell his thirteen-year-old self that one day things would be okay. One day things would be more than okay, they’d be great beyond his wildest dreams. 

His gaze finally landed on Sokka, who was looking at him knowingly. For what seemed like the millionth time that day, their hands met and intertwined. 

“Hey,” Sokka murmured, barely audible above the noise around them

“Hey yourself,” Zuko replied.

“I love you,” Sokka said.

“I love you, too.”

Thinking back to what made this moment possible, Zuko supposed he didn’t _actually_ hate frat parties after all. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sokka and Zuko absolutely get married before any of their other friends - even Aang and Katara - and their wedding is one giant PARTY.   
> Zuko becomes a huge and well respected political figure and when his dad gets arrested for corruption, Zuko easily slides in and wins his father's seat in the senate. Sokka invents all sorts of cool shit and when Izumi is born (one of the girls acts as their surrogate) Sokka shifts to work at home so he can be the hot, stay at home house-husband he deserves to be. Zuko re-establishes contact with his mom - much like in the comics - and they all live happily fucking ever after with their huge extended chosen family bc it’s WHAT THEY DESERVE.
> 
> -
> 
> for all of you who've been keeping up with this story from the start or near there thank you!! i hope this final chapter is what you were hoping for.
> 
> as always, drop a comment /tell me what you think / come say hi on [tumblr](https://khaleeseas.tumblr.com/)!
> 
> also i already have my next zukka fic planned because i am a woman possessed so this isn't the end folks!


End file.
